ENROLL HERE! ** ModPo is a fast-paced introduction to modern and contemporary U.S. poetry, with an emphasis on experimental verse, from Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman to the present. Participants (who need no prior...
Al Filreis and ModPo’s coordinator Laynie Browne & are thrilled to announce that these TAs will join us for ModPo 2026: Jake Marmer, Gabi Ojeda-Sagué, Jordan Trice, Ali Castleman, Sophia DuRose, erica kaufman, Kate...
Recently Al Filreis was interviewed by Don Rooney and John Timpane for their podcast The Musical Innertube. He talked with them about ModPo and my his book. Here is the episode program note at...
Vijaya and Rahana—dear friends by now—had never met in person before the day this photo was taken. (Vijaya brought Rahana and copy of Al’s book!)
Marc Bauch, a long-time ModPo CTA and convener of meet-ups, has sent me three of his own wonderful books of poetry. One of them (cover depicted here) responds directly to a favorite poem-generating version...
Coming soon—in March 2026: CJ Prince’s book of poems, How to Dress for the End of the World, being published by LJMcD Communications. Here is Al Filreis’s jacket blurb: C.J. Prince knows better than...
HERE is a link to all the ModPo resources on the art and writing of Marcel Duchamp. And here, below, is an image (from the Philadelphia Museum of Art) of the painting, Nude Descending...
Here is the schedule of weekly live webcasts for ModPo 2026 (the symposium mode, from early September though mid-November): Week 1 – Wed 9/2 – noonWeek 2 – Wed 9/9 – 10 AMWeek 3...
Anthony Watkins passed away on December 10, 2025. Put simply, Anthony was the most active and most engaged member of the ModPo community across the whole history of our gathering. He loved poetry (and...
Having heard just now from Suzanne of the passing this morning of our beloved ModPo colleague Anthony Watkins, and with Suzanne’s permission, I am sharing this very sad news. Put simply, Anthony was the...
We are mourning the loss of Ray Maxwell, a ModPo founder. Ray suddenly left (not by choice) the State Department in the summer of 2012. He had always had a passion for poetry and...
NOTE: All times given are Eastern U.S. Time. Click HERE to watch any of our 2025 webcasts.
Week 1 – Wed 9/2 – noon
Week 2 – Wed 9/9 – 10 AM
Week 3 – Wed 9/16 – 3 PM
Week 4 – Wed 9/23 – noon (w/ Ron Silliman)
Week 5 – Thursday 10/1 (in Manchester) 6:30 local time
Week 6 – Wed 10/7 – 3 PM
Week 7 – Wed 10/14 – 3 PM (w/ Anne Waldman)
Week 8 – Wed 10/21 – noon (w/ Bob Perelmant)
Week 9 – Wed 10/28 – 10 AM
Week 10 – Wed 11/4 – 3 PM (w/ Emily Skillings & Mark Nowak)
Final Words – Monday 11/9 – noon
Yes, you can take ModPo for University of Pennsylvania credit. Three 10-week sessions are offered each year: fall, spring, summer. This version of ModPo is taught by ModPo coordinator Laynie Browne. Click HERE for all the info you need. Contact Laynie with questions at modpo@writing.upenn.edu.
ModPo has created a Teacher Resource Center (“TRC“) for teachers who use ModPo poems & videos in their classrooms. Click HERE to read teaching guides and watch videos in which teachers talk about teaching with ModPo. If you wish to be added to our teachers mailing list, write us at modpo@writing.upenn.edu. Click HERE to discuss ModPo poems with other teachers.
