A 2-Week Poetry Workshop
Saturdays, July 5 & 19, 1-4 PM
Plato banished poets from his ideal republic because he believed that poetry's fictive and emotive qualities obscured truth. Some people—even poets—still believe that poetry’s strength lies in subjective self-expression. In this workshop, we will break back into the republic by reclaiming truth claims in poetry. We will write poems that are universally true—or we will try.
Over two meetings, we will read poets (such as Franz Kafka, Mark Strand, Louise Gluck, and June Jordan) and philosophers (such as short excerpts from Kant, Hegel, Wittgenstein, and Stanley Cavell) alike. Our exercises will experiment with escaping first-person statements to make more objective claims, and we will discuss what universal truth claims might be in our “post-truth” era. Taking to heart the deep consequences of such truth-telling, we will discuss what June Jordan said: “Poetry is a political act because it involves telling the truth.” We will generate new work, and resuscitate failing poems, through experimenting with white lies, outright lies, and allegory.
$120 Members/$175 Nonmembers
Sarah V. Schweig’s second book, The Ocean in the Next Room, won the Jake Adam York Prize and was published by Milkweed Editions in January 2025. Her first book, Take Nothing with You, was published by the University of Iowa Press in 2016. Her poetry has appeared in Boston Review, Granta, Tin House, and the Yale Review, among others, and her critical essays have appeared at Public Seminar, Tourniquet Review, and elsewhere. A graduate of the University of Virginia and Columbia University, she works as an editor and is writing a philosophy dissertation for her PhD at the New School for Social Research on the value of poetry. She lives in Portland, Maine, with her husband and son.
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 programs@mainewriters.org.
REGISTER BY PHONE
Call 207-200-7180 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. Email programs@mainewriters.org to see if the scholarship is still available. Application Due two weeks prior to the workshop start date, at 9:00 a.m.
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MWPA WORKSHOP POLICIES
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