This workshop is full. To be put on the waitlist, please email Meghan at programs@mainewriters.org.
A 5-Week Generative Poetry Workshop
TUESDAYS, JANUARY 11 TO FEBRUARY 8
Level: Intermediate/Advanced
Our conversations with the work of other writers are ongoing and often subconscious, whether or not we incorporate those conversations in our own poetry and meditative prose. As we read, we receive energy from other writers and, by osmosis, strengthen our grasp of voice, structure, play of images, use of tension, implicit argument, and other aspects of craft. But as we will explore in this generative workshop, intentional conversation with others’ work can generate exciting results, opening us to immediate inspiration by offering ideas to explore or refute, catalysts to flights of our own, structural or rhetorical patterns with which to experiment, and more. It can be a way for poets to move beyond our own biographies, a way to engage with the long history of writing, and indeed a way to inspire new work. In conversation: call and response, question and answer, play of opposites, meeting of minds.
There are many examples of such conversations. In our times, there is Terrance Hayes writing poems in the style of or in honor of such other writers as Wanda Coleman, Etheridge Knight, and even Dr. Seuss, and Marianne Samyn writing in praise of Jean Valentine. Sometimes we can track a chain of responses, as when Eamon Grennan responds to Elizabeth Bishop’s “End of March,” and then Erin Murphy responds to Grennan’s poem, and in the process discovers that her attempted imitation leads her into her own voice. All artists pay tribute or wrestle with their elders and peers. In this workshop, we will explore different models and play with ways to be in conversation with other writers.
+ SUBMIT After registering, participants are asked to submit one poem by no later than 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday January 5. Please take this deadline seriously as late submissions likely cannot be accepted. This poem will be shared with the class and discussed during your first meeting. Please email the manuscript to programs@mainewriters.org with the subject line: “SHOLL WORKSHOP MSS.” *Please use standard formatting (1” margins, 12 pt font), and Word docs (ideally) or PDFs only.
+ 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, January 6, 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.
Betsy Sholl’s ninth collection of poetry is House of Sparrows: New and Selected Poems (University of Wisconsin Press, 2019), winner of the Four Lakes Prize. Her eighth collection, Otherwise Unseeable (University of Wisconsin Press, 2014), won the 2015 Maine Book Award for Poetry. Her previous volumes include Rough Cradle (Alice James Books, 2009) and Late Psalm (University of Wisconsin, 2004). Don't Explain won the 1997 Felix Pollak Prize from the University of Wisconsin, and The Red Line (University of Pittsburgh Press) won the 1991 AWP Prize for Poetry. She is a founding member of Alice James Books and published three earlier collections with them. Among her other awards are a fellowship from the National Endowment of the Arts, and two Maine Writer's Fellowships, and the 2020 Maine Literary Award for Distinguished Achievement. Her work has been published in many anthologies, including Letters to America, Contemporary American Poetry on Race, Best American Poetry and Best Spiritual Writing, and a range of literary journals, including Plume, Brilliant Corners, Field, On the Seawall and Image. She has taught in a range of institutions, from elementary schools to prisons to MIT, and for many years at the University of Southern Maine. She was visiting poet at the University of Pittsburgh and Bucknell University, and currently teaches in the MFA in Writing Program of Vermont College of Fine Arts. She served as Poet Laureate of Maine from 2006 to 2011.
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 partial scholarship to this workshop for members-only. Scholarships are awarded on a combination of need and merit. Application Due on January 4 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