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

Educators can earn up to 8 CPE credit hours

Persona Poetry for the 21st Century: The Pop Culture Poem

What happens if we consider our cultural figures (pop stars, influencers, and movie actors) as objects to inhabit and speak back to? That is, what happens if we consider the pop persona as a figure to be written into and dissected? Ekphrasis and ekphrastic art is often designated as a form that remains rooted in an object (think of “Ode to a Grecian Urn” by John Keats). In this weekend intensive for educators, we will expand our poetic understanding to consider how pop culture can also be a source of poetry.

This workshop takes pop culture seriously, inviting writers to immerse themselves in a figure of their choice and conduct a deep dive into their persona. From this research, participants will write poems that inhabit the figure’s voice, complicate it, or challenge it entirely. We will study writers and works such as Sarah Blake’s “Mr. West,” Tracy Rosenthal’s “RiRi Revisions,” Morgan Parker’s “There are more beautiful things than Beyonce,” and Kevin Killian’s “Action Kylie.” These examples show how poets have engaged with pop personas not only to explore the lives of their subjects, but also to reflect on their own perspectives and experiences.

Educators can expect to strengthen their writing practice, develop a deep understanding of a pop culture icon of their choosing and, most importantly, a writing practice that emerges from such explorations.