This workshop is full. To be added to the waitlist, email Meghan at programs@mainewriters.org.
A Poetry Workshop
Level: All Levels
For many of us, the last few years have been marked by losses, both personal and collective, often so many losses that at times the world has taken on a surreal tinge and it has seemed as if we are living inside a communal, extended season of elegy. Embracing the complex, grief-heightened energy of this current moment (or even our own exhaustion in the face of it), this class will explore the elegy—the poem or song of lamentation, of deep reflection on loss—with a focus on understanding the poem both as a container for grief and as an imperfect vessel that, like us, often cannot hold what it is asked to bear without metamorphizing. Together, we will practice noticing the ways in which grief changes us and thus, changes by necessity, the ways in which we must come to our poems. How does loss alter how we see, notice, move through the world, interact, communicate? What does bereavement do to our language, syntax, and use of form? How does mourning affect the sense of intimacy or distance in our poems, or the blur the lines between individual and collective experience? Throughout this class our work will be aided by reading the poems of Aracelis Girmay, Ocean Vuong, Jericho Brown, Diana Khoi Nguyen, Forrest Gander, Victoria Chang, Martha Collins and others, and by engaging in generative exercises and experimentations with form and, in particular, with the disruption of form.
+ PLEASE NOTE This workshop will occur online via Zoom. Students do not need to create an account to participate, but should test out Zoom before their class if they are first-time users. On Thursday December 1st from 5:30pm to 6:00pm, MWPA staff will offer a tech help session on Zoom. Students are encouraged to attend the tech help session, which usually takes only 5-10 minutes, if they have any tech concerns, use Zoom infrequently, or simply would like to test their connection, and those who do not are responsible for ensuring that they are able to use Zoom on their own. The week of the workshop, students will be emailed a link that they may click to enter the test session and the class.
+ REQUIRED EQUIPMENT A reliable, fast internet connection (broadband wired or wireless (3G or 4G/LTE), speakers & a microphone (built-in or USB plug-in), and a webcam (built-in or USB plug-in).
If you would like to quickly and easily test your internet connection and your computer’s compatibility with Zoom, click HERE. Full details on supported Operating Systems, internet browsers, and more can be found HERE. To download and familiarize yourself with Zoom, click HERE.
Julia Bouwsma lives off-the-grid in the mountains of western Maine, where she is a poet, homesteader, editor, teacher, small-town librarian and Maine’s sixth Poet Laureate. Bouwsma is the author of two poetry collections, Midden and Work by Bloodlight, both of which received the Maine Literary Award for Poetry Book. She currently serves as the Library Director for Webster Library in Kingfield, ME and teaches in the Creative Writing department at the University of Maine at Farmington.
ADVANCE REGISTRATION REQUIRED
All MWPA workshops require advanced registration. We accept registration by phone, mail, and online via our website. We cannot guarantee registration in the final 24-hours before a workshop, and can rarely accommodate day-of registration.
PAYMENT & CANCELLATION POLICIES
If you need to withdraw from a class after registering for any reason, please email or call the MWPA immediately. You may be eligible for a partial refund or credit, depending on how far in advance you cancel. → MORE INFORMATION
QUESTIONS
For any questions regarding this workshop, please contact Meghan Sterling at programs@mainewriters.org.
REGISTER BY PHONE
Call 207-228-8263 and register with your VISA or MasterCard.
REGISTER BY MAIL
If you prefer to pay by mail, please print this registration form (downloadable PDF) and mail it to the MWPA with a check or credit card information.
SCHOLARSHIP
The MWPA is proud to offer one full scholarship to this workshop for members-only. Scholarships are awarded on a combination of need and merit. Email Meghan at programs@mainewriters.org to see if the scholarship is still available. Application Due by November 12th at 9:00 a.m.
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MWPA WORKSHOP POLICIES
Registration in any MWPA workshop, program, or event constitutes your agreement to our terms and conditions. → MORE INFORMATION