PORTLAND – The Maine Humanities Council is offering “Journey into the Poem,” a five-day seminar with poet Wesley McNair. The seminar will be held July 22-26 in Portland, and is designed for teachers who would like to make the teaching of poetry, particularly free verse, livelier and more informed. The seminar also is open to other members of the public with an interest in free verse.

The program includes writing, discussion, the compilation of ideas for teaching poetry in the classroom, and a public poetry reading by McNair. This is the fourth year the Maine Humanities Council has offered this seminar with McNair.

McNair is a highly acclaimed poet and teacher who has been awarded fellowships by the Rockefeller, Fulbright, and Guggenheim Foundations. McNair’s latest book of poetry, his sixth, is “Fire,” just published by Godine. His collection of essays, “Mapping the Heart: Reflections on Place and Poetry,” will be published this summer. McNair is director of the creative writing program at the University of Maine at Farmington.

“Journey into the Poem” will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day at the Free Street Conference Room. The $250 tuition includes materials and lunches. CEUs are available. Visit www.mainehumanities.org for an application and details or call the Maine Humanities Council at 773-5051.