How Many Versions [Nov Edition]

This workshop is hosted virtually second Saturday of every month as part of the Chicago Poetry Center Board | Fundraiser Workshop Series. Below you will find the self-guided version of our November workshop. If you’d like to attend the upcoming sessions live, you will find links at the bottom of this page, we hope you join us <3

Today, our inspiration comes from the Double Diamond framework of design: diverge, synthesize converge. We’ll move through three passes of your piece: shared association → personal synthesis → distilling & compression.

TLDR: Diverge → explore uncontained. Converge → decisive distilling. How I explained Double Diamond to my English teacher (source)

Check‑in (5 minutes)

Name, pronouns, and location if you’d like to share.

Name one moment this week when you noticed a moment of divergence or convergence in your day [divergence → something that felt expansive, suddenly opened up, when you felt explorative; convergence → something that felt clarifying, something coming together, something that clicked for you in a moment].

Audit before we edit (5 minutes)

Exercise 1: Another voice + co‑created word bank (20 minutes)

Mark Nowak — underbelly

• Read your piece (as-is) or ask someone to read it. Declare your preserve & play notes.
• While listening: each listener selects 1 word that stands out, then adds 3 free-association words based on personal meaning. Post mini-clusters like: ANCHOR WORD → WORD 1 → WORD 2 → WORD 3.
• Inspired by Nowak: write the anchor word in ALL CAPS to be strong reminders as we work through the piece! Keep associations semantic: conceptual, thematic, contextual, memory-based, etymological, categorical. Avoid sound-based or purely sensory prompts. Note: No need to align with the poem’s original intent.

Rewrite 1 (10 minutes)

Rewrite your poem/piece using at least 3 words/phrases from the word bank.

• You may combine words from the word bank.
• You could choose to replace words in your draft, or write more into the existing lines.

At this stage, if you get ideas for multiple start points, end lines, titles - capture all in your notes.

Reminder: The goal for this rewrite is to shift constructs that feel stuck or to name/explore the tangents your poem wants to go on.

Exercise 2: Synthesize the associations (5 + 10 minutes)

We’ll borrow from semantic clustering in the Double Diamond. Pick 1–2 charged words from your latest version and generate 1 core cluster.

How to cluster (5 minutes):

• In the center: your anchor word. Write a set of 3 associations YOU have to that word/concept.
• Keep associations semantic only: concepts, categories, contexts, roles, causes ↔ effects, parts ↔ wholes, synonyms/antonyms, symbolic meaning, personal anecdotes.
• Avoid sound-based or purely sensory associations for today.
• Name one thread you want to tug on in the next pass.

Rewrite 2 (10 minutes)

Pick one cluster and follow it through into layers of meaning. Let the associated language tilt the piece. This can mean a new entrance, a detour, or even replacing a core image/character.

Reminder: The goal for this rewrite is to sharpen meaning by personal association.

Exercise 3: Converge through compression (10 minutes)

Use compression strategies to distill the poem to its necessary pressure points. A few doors in: On compression — North American Review. More resources below.

Compression moves to try:

• Cut redundancy. Merge lines that duplicate function.
• Prefer image over explanation. Trade adjectives for concrete nouns & verbs.
• Collapse ladder-words. Remove scaffolding words.
• Test short lines vs. one breath-length sentence. Try a 5–7 sentence prose block.
• Title as aperture: let the title carry context you cut from the body.
• Carry the heat, the voltage, the charge. Remove lines/words/phrases that break the flow.

Rewrite 3

Present a compressed version that keeps the poem’s essence. Optional constraints:

• 3 verses, 3 lines each, 3 words in each line
• Say it in 100 words / 1 verse
• Try an erasure poem (aka blackout) OR a highlight poem
• Try a 1‑sentence poem (monostich: 1 line title + 1 line poem)
• Try a list poem with 1–2 words/phrases per line
• Say it in Haiku (Haiku Syllable Counter | For Poems) or a Haibun (see below)

Reminder: The goal for this is to converge and compress - reduce to essentials without losing the heat or your voice.

Reflections & Announcements

Check‑out: Name one anchor word/theme/idea for your writing that emerged (if it did). If you had a favorite line/version from today, tell us that too!

We meet again with some new, some similar exercises in December:

Chicago Poetry Center How Many Versions | Chicago Poetry Center: Write & Give Back Series (Dec)

More resources on compression in poems:

Frances Donovan Song and Compression in Emily Dickinson’s Poetry

James Gilmore Short Form Storytelling, Part 3: The Three Types of Compression

Olivia Clare Friedman Shorter, Faster, Better: On the Beauty of Literary Compression

Poem references:

Noah Falck Excerpt from "Winter" by Mark Nowak - Just Buffalo Literary Center | Buffalo, NY

Poets.org - Academy of American Poets From “. . . Again”

The Poetry Foundation Haibun

The Poetry Foundation sundress: a burning haibun

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