This is an in-person workshop that takes place at Inprint House.

 

Poetry, in my experience, is a way to say that which resists saying. It is a language all its own—one which is endlessly expansive. This is what makes poetry meaningful and necessary. The poem is a place to play, as much as it is a place to grieve, as much as it is a place to love. The work of poetry is invaluable because it brings us back to the sensations of the world, and also reminds us of our existence within it. The poem does this not through description, but through the creation of experience—the pulse of poetry (to quote poet A.R. Ammons) moves “past telling, to be recognized by burning.” By this, I understand Ammons to mean that, in the language of poetry, what is felt (the sensations of language) is just as meaningful as what is said. What makes poetry endlessly exciting, is that it is a craft which asks both writer and reader to notice not only what is being expressed, but how the expression feels: its form, its texture, its rhythm, its music. What is the pulse of the poem? How do we feel it? How might we listen? In this workshop, we will explore such questions by studying the writing of poets from different backgrounds, time-periods, and aesthetic sensibilities. We’ll traverse expressions of voice, form, content, and style as we develop our own poetic languages. We’ll also work towards cultivating a sense of trust and vulnerability as we workshop each other’s writing, help each other hone our ever-developing voices, and practice listening to the pulse of our poetry.