This is an in-person workshop that takes place at Inprint House.
Family in Poetry: The Challenges of and Ways into a Powerful Theme
Sometimes writing what’s closest to us is the most difficult. Writing about family can spur questions on intention, ethics, and the impact on potential readers within the family. Whether we are writing about family as an outside spectator or we’re personifying family members, there’s a unique struggle that comes into play when attempting to find balance in these poems.
In this intensive workshop, we will share some of the pitfalls that happen in writing about family. We will look at poems that exemplify successful family writing, including work by Sharon Olds, Marie Howe, Terrance Hayes, Joy Priest, Natalie Diaz, Jericho Brown, Toi Derricotte, and Cornelius Eady. We will also venture into our own writing on the theme and get contextual and supportive feedback on our poems about family.
About the instructor
JOSHUA BURTON is a poet and educator from Houston, TX and received his MFA in poetry at Syracuse University. He is a 2019 Tin House Winter Workshop Scholar, 2019 Juniper Summer Writing Institute scholarship winner, 2019 Center for African American Poetry and Poetics fellowship finalist, received the Honorable Mention for the 2018 Toi Derricotte and Cornelius Eady Chapbook Prize, 2020 Wisconsin Institute for Creative Writing finalist, and a 2023 Elizabeth George Foundation grant recipient. His work can be found in Mississippi Review, Gulf Coast, The Rumpus, Conduit, TriQuarterly, Black Warrior Review, Grist, and Indiana Review. His chapbook Fracture Anthology is currently out with Ethel and his debut poetry collection Grace Engine is out with the University of Wisconsin Press.
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