Come along and spend 30 days with me in the world of poetry. Listen to a daily poem, get curious, ask questions, listen for answers, explore your own writing (if you want to), and let poetry guide you along the way.

Surprised by a Poem gives you a month-long practice of listening to a poem each day + reflecting on what that poem shines a light on for you. There will be lots of inspiration along the way, opportunity to connect in community in a private Facebook group, and there will be optional prompts that invite you to explore words of your own. We begin April 1.



Each day of this course, a new lesson will appear in the classroom that includes a video of me reading a poem to you, links to that poem and more about that poet, ideas on how to dive into your own writing inspired by the daily poem, plus other inspiration and good things to explore.


With this round of Surprised by a Poem, I've gathered up 30 of my favorite poems with the intention of each being a guide for us in The And Spaces of our lives. If you're new to that phrase, The And Space is what I call the place where we hold beauty and grit and honor everything in between. This is a space we all find ourselves in while on this path of being human. 


And I want you to remember that you don't have to explore this space alone. We walk through it side by side. Always. And in this course, poets, who have been navigating The And Space through their words for centuries, will be along too.


Liz completely changed how I think about poetry. She opened my eyes to poets whose writing is rooted in the stories of everyday life in language that
is approachable and inspiring. I’m so thankful.
- Ali Edwards


Why poetry?

Poets are observers, artists, and truth tellers. They are curious. They ask questions. They explore heartache, beauty, joy, daily life, longings, memories, and so much of what it means to be human. They listen and then weave words together with what they find. Then we are lucky enough to receive the gift of their words.

And if we pay attention we can find that they ask us to notice, sometimes they give us instructions, and often they hold up a mirror and demand that we look at who we are. 

And in doing this, they remind us that we are not alone.



Reading poetry can change your life. (For real.) 

But if you need more reasons than that to join me, here are a few. In this class, you will:

  • Fall in love with poetry (for the first time or again and again).
  • Listen to poetry that gets you curious, that makes you feel something, that surprises you.
  • Get ideas on how to incorporate a practice of poetry into your daily life.
  • Read poets from a variety of backgrounds, races, ages, genders, and more. (In other words, we won't just read the poetry of old dead white men, not that they haven't written some good poems, but they aren't the only ones.)
  • Learn how I use poetry in my daily life as part of my mindfulness and creative practices. (I'm going to share about how poetry is a lifeline for me.)
  • Look at a few ways poetry inspires my art journaling and other creative adventures.
  • Explore jumping off points for creative writing and storytelling using poetry as inspiration.
Additionally, I will be splitting 5% of the profits from this class between The Poetry Foundation and The Academy of American Poets as a thank you for all the ways they bring a huge variety of poetry into the world so we can enjoy and learn from it. 
Liz’s classes over the years have introduced me to the world of poetry. I appreciate the deep wisdom found in plain sight with poetry and I assure you, I wouldn’t have found it without Liz! The poems she shares and teaches with are often the perfect jumping off point for journaling or personal reflection on this journey called life. Liz is an expert guide and beloved teacher. I can’t recommend her courses enough!
- Tonya Rich, PhD

Note: This is a great class if you are new to my work or feel like you'd like to spend some time with me and my infectious love of poetry. Also, if you're in a season where you need to be reminded that you aren't alone, that others have come before you and made it through, that there is beauty alongside all the tough stuff, this class will help you find all of these things through poetry. 


If you took Surprised by a Poem in 2024, please note that this is the same version. I am rereleasing it for those who haven't had the chance to take it yet. 
A little more about me, your teacher, Liz Lamoreux: 

I teach creative and mindful practices to help us navigate The And Space. I use poetry, photography, and art journaling to tell my stories, and if you spend a little time with me, you’ll probably end up writing a poem. Most days you can find me creating in my journals, making jewelry and other reminders to help us keep showing up, or taking a drive around Puget Sound after school with my kid.

I've been hosting community conversations about poetry and sharing my love of it + teaching about it since 2006. Thousands of people have realized that they too love poetry through working with me. I hope you will join me in this next adventure into the world of poems.

You can find out more about me and connect with me at my website and over on Instagram.
A Few More Details:
HOW IT WORKS
You can sign up for the course below, and then you will receive an email with information on how to log in. When you log in, you will find a welcome + more information. On April 1, you will find our first poem + lesson. After that, a new lesson will appear each day for 30 days total. You do receive a daily email reminder that the lesson is live, and you can always log into the classroom. (If you sign up after April 1, no worries! The first few poems will be there and you can work at your pace as the new poems and prompts appear daily.)

OPTIONAL COMMUNITY
For those who would like to connect with others, there will be a private Facebook group where we will connect about poetry.

COST 
$25

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Here’s what I want you to remember: You can choose how you move through this course. For some, listening to the daily poems will be enough. For others, you will listen to the poem, click through the link provided to read it again, and then start writing whatever comes up for you inspired by the poem. Others will dive into the links and ideas I share about poetry, poets, and other good things. Some will do a bit of all the above. And others, who really really love to journal, will create their own poetry journals with the words of others and perhaps some of their own too.

Part of my work in the world is to again and again invite you to listen to what your heart is called to do and follow that path to see what you find. Surprised by a Poem will invite that in just as my other courses do.

If you have questions, just get in touch.

Side by side,
Liz

And if you want to head back to my website, just click here.