This group is for those who want to study poetry, literary theory and the craft of writing as well as participate in workshops. We hope to have a deeper engagement with poetry and other forms of writing by reading and discussing work together.
Meeting Agendas:
Sunday, April 23, 7pm
We will be discussing ecopoetics, a movement in poetry that engages with ecology, the poet’s own earth-ness and environmental issues.
Check out Jonathan Skinner’s many definitions of ecopoetics on the sidebar here: https://jacket2.org/commentary/jonathan-skinner
Here’s the poetry foundation’s collection: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/collections/146462/poetry-and-the-environment
Sunday, March 19, 7pm
Bring a poem or excerpt of any piece of writing of yours and get group feedback. Those who have love-themed work to share will go first, continuing with our look at love poems that avoid cliche but after that you can share work on any theme. (Not more than 2 pages please so we have enough time.) I will post the Zoom link on the day of the event.
We’ll be doing the question format where participants write questions that they have about your poem in the chat and then the poet selects a question that they would like the group to talk about. Writers gain insight into their work, plus it is fun to talk about our work together. If you are not able to do a screen share, please email your poem to the organizer during the Zoom event.
Sunday February 19, 7pm
We’re going to read love poems that offer a take on love today and we’ll discuss how to write love poems without being cliche. Just in time for Valentines’ Day, we’ll be realistic about all that love contains, including the thorns and complexity.
Ocean Vuong’s A Little Closer to the Edge
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/88734/a-little-closer-to-the-edge
We’ll read: Aimee Nezhukumatathil’s “Baked Goods”
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/145509/baked-goods
Marge Piercy, “To have without holding”
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/57672/to-have-without-holding
Kim Addonizio, “First Kiss”
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/42521/first-kiss
Jennifer Chang, “Conversation with Slugs and Sarah”
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/54275/conversation-with-slugs-and-sarah
Check out the Poetry Foundation’s complete selection on this theme: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/collections/149006/its-complicated
Sunday, January 15, 7pm
We will be spotlighting the work of Pindar, an Ancient Greek lyric poet. We will read out loud Pindar’s first Olympic Ode so you don’t have to read in advance unless you want to. The text can be found here: http://people.uncw.edu/deagona/CLA%20209%20F-11/Pindar%20d1a.pdf
Or if you would like to read from the Greek/ full English translation of all the odes, check this out: https://ryanfb.github.io/loebolus-data/L056.pdf
Here’s a recording of Olympic Ode One on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOKKMS0xdVI
Sunday, December 18, 7pm
Join us for a special holiday treat– a spotlight on the poetry of CAConrad. We will read out loud and discuss some of their poems. A special CAConrad fan will be joining us 🙂 The Zoom link will be shared before the event on FB or via email. Eastern Standard Time.
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/c-a-conrad
Sunday, November 6, 7pm
Inspired by Kleiner’s Haiku Project, we will be looking at historical Japanese haiku by Basho as well as modern American haiku.
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/bashoBasho
Basho Haiku
https://www.uwosh.edu/facstaff/barnhill/es-244-basho/hokku.pdf
Modern Haiku
http://www.modernhaiku.org/issue53-2/haiku.html
Information about the Haiku Project by Kleiner:
Remember that you can submit haiku that you write to: bostonhaikuexchange@gmail.com to receive a submission form where you can submit your two haiku and then you will receive a condensed document via email of haiku submissions. No names, send a nickname with your haiku.
Sunday, October 9, 7pm
Bring a poem or excerpt of any piece of writing of yours and get group feedback. Those who have contrapuntals to share may go first and then after that any kind of work can be shared. (Not more than 2 pages please so we have enough time.)
We’ll be doing the question format where participants write questions that they have about your poem in the chat and then the poet selects a question that they would like the group to talk about. Writers gain insight into their work, plus it is fun to talk about our work together. If you are not able to do a screen share, please email your poem to the organizer.
Sunday, September 18th, 7pm
We’ll be reading examples of contrapuntal poems and discuss how to write in this form that creates multiple readings/multiple poems in one. No need to read in advance but here’s what we’ll be reading together and discussing:
Aubade Ending with the Death of a Mosquito by Tarfia Faizullah
https://dversepoets.com/2018/05/24/contrapuntal-poetry/
Amid Rising Tensions on the Korean Peninsula by Franny Choi
https://poems.com/poem/amid-rising-tensions-on-the-korean-peninsula/
yasmeen by Safia Elhillo
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/147159/yasmeen
Further reading if you’re interested:
Trace DePass on Contrapuntal Poems:
https://teachersandwritersmagazine.org/writing-a-contrapuntal-poem-tools-gathered-from-even-odd-project-elevators-8477.htm
Sunday, July 24, 7pm
We will be focusing on feminism/ women writers etc… starting with an essay by Kim Moore and then doing a spotlight on a section of Claudia Rankine’s Citizen. A reminder that you don’t have to read in advance. We can read out loud/ summarize. Here are the readings:
Introduction: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/collections/146073/poetry-and-feminism
Moments of Change by Kim Moore
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/harriet-books/2022/07/moments-of-change
Claudia Rankine, from Citizen “Some years there exists a wanting to escape
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/57799/citizen-some-years-there-exists-a-wanting-to-escape
Sunday July, 10, 7pm
The Lord Randall Ballad was a direct influence of the Bob Dylan song, “A Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall.” We will read that ballad as well as the Dylan song and continue our discussion of the ballad as a folk tradition.
Lord Randall Background:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Randall
Lord Randall Ballad:
https://www.poetrybyheart.org.uk/poems/lord-randall/
A Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXn9ZKPx6CY
Sunday, June 19, 2022, 7pm
Ballads: Literary History:
Intro
https://poets.org/glossary/ballad
More detailed information about the history of the ballad:
https://www.folkmusic.net/htmfiles/inart679.htm
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner:
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43997/the-rime-of-the-ancient-mariner-text-of-1834
Modern Ballads: (Likely not until the 2nd meeting)
50 Best Power Ballads
https://myq105.com/listicle/best-power-ballads/
How to write a ballad
https://www.musicgateway.com/blog/music-industry/music-production/ballad
It’s Alright, Ma (I’m Only Bleeding) by Bob Dylan
https://www.bobdylan.com/songs/its-alright-ma-im-only-bleeding/
Lord Randall Background:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Randall
Lord Randall Ballad:
https://www.poetrybyheart.org.uk/poems/lord-randall/
A Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXn9ZKPx6CY
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Sunday, May 22, 7 PM
Bring a poem or excerpt of any piece of writing of yours and get group feedback. (Not more than 2 pages please so we have enough time.) We’ll start with poems that fit the prompt: “What I learned from someone/a mentor/ a family member etc… but all topics and themes are welcome.
We’ll be doing the question format where participants write questions that they have about your poem in the chat and then the poet selects a question that they would like the group to talk about. Writers gain insight into their work, plus it is fun to talk about our work together. If you are not able to do a screen share, please email your poem to the organizer.
Sunday May 8, 7 PM
Rachel McKibbens, After School Special
What I Learned From My Mother by Julia Kasdorf
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/48491/what-i-learned-from-my-mother
To My Mother by Edgar Allan Poe
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/55569/to-my-mother-56d2374c0d434
A Practical Mom by Amy Uyematsu
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/53939/a-practical-mom
The Daughter by CARMEN GIMÉNEZ SMITH
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/56714/the-daughter
A Dandelion for My Mother
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/49847/a-dandelion-for-my-mother
Sunday April 24, 7PM:
We’ll be continuing with more French Poetry, in English and French, including discussing banned poems of Charles Baudelaire & more!
Lesbos by Charles Baudelaire
https://fleursdumal.org/poem/179
Femmes damnées by Charles Baudelaire
https://fleursdumal.org/poem/181
Ave by Catherine Pozzi
https://poetryintranslation.wordpress.com/2010/10/08/ave-by-catherine-pozzi-translated-sebastian-hayes/
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLSL7PbRF6I
Le Pont Mirabeau By Guillaume Apollinaire
https://www.frenchtoday.com/french-poetry-reading/poem-le-pont-mirabeau-apollinaire/
Edith Piaf – Non, je ne regrette rien
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFtGfyruroU
La vie en rose
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzeLynj1GYM
Sunday, April 10, 7 PM:
We will be reading some classic French poetry with English translation and the French original. If you would like to read the poem out loud for us in both languages, that would be great but it is optional. We also have recordings we can listen to.
An early poem by Arthur Rimbaud
https://www.frenchtoday.com/french-poetry-reading/poem-le-dormeur-du-val-rimbaud/
Video of the poem being read: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPWxhfed5_g
La Musique by Charles Baudelaire
https://fleursdumal.org/poem/175
Guillaume Apollinaire
https://www.frenchtoday.com/french-poetry-reading/poem-le-pont-mirabeau-apollinaire/
Ave by Catherine Pozzi
https://poetryintranslation.wordpress.com/2010/10/08/ave-by-catherine-pozzi-translated-sebastian-hayes/
Marie-Claire Bancquart
https://www.babelmatrix.org/works/fr/Bancquart,_Marie-Claire-1932/Je_marche_dans_la_solitude_des_livres/en/37662-I_Walk_in_the_Solitude_of_Books
Sunday, March 27, 2022, 7 PM
Bring a poem or excerpt of any piece of writing of yours and get group feedback. (Not more than 2 pages please so we have enough time.) We’ll be doing the question format where participants write questions that they have about your poem in the chat and then the poet selects a question that they would like the group to talk about. Writers gain insight into their work, plus it is fun to talk about our work together. If you are not able to do a screen share, please email your poem to the organizer.
Sunday, March 20, 2022, 7PM
Known as a queer power couple, Ania Catherine and Dejha Ti create interactive/immersive art that challenges our relationship to technology/gender/self/body etc… We’ll be discussing some of the philosophies that their art brings up and then watching footage from their installation & an interview.
Background Information on Ania Catherine and Dejha Ti
An Artist Interview:
Installation Tour:
Sunday, March 6, 2022, 7 PM
We’ll be focusing on how Gertrude Stein brought together a network of artists, writers and philosophers at 27 rue de Fleurus. How do movements in art affect approaches to poetry? We’ll read an experimental poem called Matisse by Stein as an example of that. We’ll also be looking ahead to our future topic: how understanding movements in art today can shape our approach to poetry, so we can begin to think about that but will cover it more in depth later.
Here’s a video:
What is the relationship between poetry and art today? (More so for next time, but just to think about it.)
The 21st Century Art Movement: What Is It?
Sunday, February 20, 2022, 7 PM
We’ll be reading queer love poems, especially ones that address Sappho or feel Sapphic (following our recent spotlight on Sappho). Content warning for erotic themes. Poems may include:
Didn’t Sappho say her guts clutched up like this? by Marilyn Hacker
Dreaming of Lesbos by Tatiana de la Tierra
Recreation by Audre Lorde
For Willyce by Pat Parker
Sunday, February 6, 2022, 7 PM
We’ll be doing a spotlight on Sappho: https://poets.org/poet/sappho and reading from a translation of some of her work: https://www.uh.edu/~cldue/texts/sappho.html
Here’s Sappho’s Ode to Aphrodite performed in Ancient Greek https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3onZPLXt_kw
Sunday, January 23, 2022, 7 PM
Bring a poem or excerpt of any piece of writing of yours and get group feedback. (Not more than 2 pages please so we have enough time.) We’ll be doing the question format where participants write questions that they have about your poem in the chat and then the poet selects a question that they would like the group to talk about. Writers gain insight into their work, plus it is fun to talk about our work together. If you are not able to do a screen share, please email your poem to the organizer.
Sunday, January 9, 2022, 7 PM
We’ll be reading poems about pets and animals, from the T.S. Elliot poem that inspired the musical Cats to Andrea Gibson’s modern slam poem that is a letter to their dog and more! Feel free to bring your pet to our Zoom experience– cats, dogs, guinea pigs, iguanas etc… All welcome.
The Song of the Jellicles by T.S. Eliot
After an illness/Walking the dog by Jane Kenyon
A Letter to my dog, exploring the human condition by Andrea Gibson
Evening Hawk by Robert Penn Warren
Sunday, December 19, 7 PM
We’ll be continuing to learn more about the time period that birthed the English sonnet. This will be a closer look at the English Renaissance as a time period in history and how that shaped literature of the time.
We could also explore other examples of the link between history and form so feel free to bring your own example if you’d like.
The Renaissance (Background/History):
https://www.history.com/topics/renaissance/renaissance
Shakespeare’s Sonnets:
http://www.shakespeares-sonnets.com/all.php (you can click on any of the sonnets to get more info)
Sunday, December 5, 7 PM
We’ll be focusing on the history of the sonnet to become better at understanding the historical origins and how that may improve our craft in writing a sonnet of our own. Resources include:
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/articles/70051/learning-the-sonnet
Sunday November 21, 7 PM
Bring a poem or excerpt of any piece of writing of yours and get group feedback. Preference given to poems that are in form. Check out the options here: https://www.writersdigest.com/write-better-poetry/list-of-50-poetic-forms-for-poets
(Not more than 2 pages please so we have enough time.) We’ll be doing the question format where participants write questions that they have about your poem in the chat and then the poet selects a question that they would like the group to talk about. Writers gain insight into their work, plus it is fun to talk about our work together. If you are not able to do a screen share, please email your poem to the organizer.
Sunday, November 7, 7 PM:
Ever wanted to write in form but not sure how to get started? Have experience writing in form but want to go deeper? We’ll be discussing forms like villanelle, ghazal, sestina, haiku, tanka, sonnet, limerick etc… and reading specific examples to get the feel for how to write in form. (Reading in advance is always optional and not necessary.)
Sunday October 24th, 7 PM:
How do you write spooky? We’ll be reading poems with a Halloween theme. The Poetry Foundation offers some great ideas but feel free to pick your own. No need to read in advance. We’ll read together out loud and then discuss, just in time to get ideas of how to approach writing spooky.
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/collections/142010/halloween-poems
Sunday, October 17th, 7 PM
Trying to write during a global pandemic is difficult and often necessary. Let’s explore poems about sickness, illness and recovery to shed light on how to approach writing during these times. Even before the pandemic, many of us struggled with chronic health issues so let’s take a closer look at the craft of expressing that experience: (We will pick whatever poems feel right on the night we meet. You may read in advance if you’d like but it’s not required.) https://www.poetryfoundation.org/collections/145189/poems-of-illness-5a319c160b730
Sunday October 3rd, 7 PM
Spotlight Poet: Patricia Smith
“In contemporary American poetry, all roads lead to Patricia Smith. Look, maybe some of y’all are content with unproductive detours, lyric byways, and formal parking lots, but I’m a writer and a reader who wants to go to where the action is. Patricia Smith is that mecca, that metropolis, that neon city shining atop a jet-black hill.” -Saeed Jones, Read More
Please be mindful of the fact that Patricia Smith is a complex, nuanced writer, often of very difficult to pull off persona pieces that she does amazingly well but that doesn’t mean that we as a group can read out loud all of the things that she does. We will be looking at these poems of hers in particular:
Sunday September 19, 7 PM
We’ll start by sharing how we go about writing poems, what is our process, how and what do we create? (No need to read in advance. We will go over these resources together.)
Please consider these kinds of craft concepts:
Also consider the limits of being able to explain craft with this article.
We may read together out loud any of the following poems to use as examples to talk about craft:
Psalm 150 by Jericho Brown
Poem For The Blackbird by Alina Stefanescu
Sunday September 12, 7 PM
Bring a poem or excerpt of any piece of writing of yours and get group feedback. (Not more than 2 pages please so we have enough time.) We’ll be doing the question format where participants write questions that they have about your poem in the chat and then the poet selects a question that they would like the group to talk about. Writers gain insight into their work, plus it is fun to talk about our work together. If you are not able to do a screen share, please email your poem to: pennapril@gmail.com
Sunday August 29, 7 PM
Coffee houses. Public readings. Poetry community. We’ll be focusing on The Poetry Project at St. Marks and some of the poets and work that brought about this powerhouse NYC community.
A Basic Mission Statement from their website:
from After the Wild Iris by Iris McCloughan
Steve Cannon reading a poem on YouTube
January at the Sutro Baths by Angie Sijun Lou
CA Conrad, Auguries Cast Aside
Find a poem you like in The Recluse:
Sunday June 25, 7 PM
How does a poet take an abstract concept and attach specific, raw details to it? Let’s take a closer look at metaphorical language in poetry to see what’s going on here and if we can develop our metaphor making skills more deeply.
Background on metaphor:
Poets, Allow Me to Reintroduce Metaphor and Simile by Hannah Huff
A scholarly look at metaphor:
Metaphor: A Poet is a Nightingale
Specific poems we’ll be reading together:
My Brother My Wound by Natalie Diaz
From Which I Flew by Tyree Daye
Perhaps This Is For You by Mary Biddinger
Sunday July 11, 7 PM
Bring a poem or excerpt of any piece of writing of yours and get group feedback. Those who have written poems in form will get to go first, continuing our theme from the iambic pentameter/form event. (Not more than 2 pages please so we have enough time.) We’ll be doing the question format where participants write questions that they have about your poem in the chat and then the poet selects a question that they would like the group to talk about. Writers gain insight into their work, plus it is fun to talk about our work together. If you are not able to do a screen share, please email your poem to: pennapril@gmail.com
Sunday June 20, 7 PM
Let’s take a closer look at What is Iambic Pentameter.
We’ll be discussing Shakespeare’s famous Sonnet #18.
Here is an interesting performance of it as a rap.
Here’s a glossary of poetic terms that you might find useful.
Sunday June 6, 7 PM
We’ll be exploring the poetic references and influences on Bob Dylan. This article touches on a few.
Here’s a playlist of the songs that we’ll be looking at:
Here are the lyrics of the songs:
Sunday May 30, 7 PM
Composed around 330 BC, Aristotle’s Poetics is a foundation of literary criticism and discussion about what is poetry, art, theater etc… We’ll read some passages from Aristotle’s Poetics but no need to read in advance unless you want to (it’s a lot and we won’t get to it all). Here’s a video that introduces this topic.
Aristotle’s Poetics:
Sunday, May 23, 7 PM
Writer’s Workshop
Bring a poem or excerpt of any piece of writing of yours and get group feedback. (Not more than 2 pages please so we have enough time.) We’ll be doing the question format where participants write questions that they have about your poem in the chat and then the poet selects a question that they would like the group to talk about. Writers gain insight into their work, plus it is fun to talk about our work together. If you are not able to do a screen share, please email your poem to: pennapril@gmail.com
Sunday May 16, 7 PM
Come get existential with us and debate what it means to be a poet. Each of these poems shows a different vantage point of the poet’s life and purpose. We’ll read out loud and discuss the poems together so you don’t have to read in advance.
so you want to be a writer? by Charles Bukowski
For the young who want to by Marge Piercy
In Memory of W.B. Yeats by W. H. Auden
Introduction to Poetry by Billy Collins
Ars Poetica by Archibald MacLeish
Sunday May 9, 7 PM
Let’s celebrate Mother’s Day by reading poems about springtime. Usually I go to the Arboretum and smell the lilacs around Mother’s Day but this is a great virtual option. Here are some poems we’ll check out:
After the Winter by Claude McKay
Dear One Absent This Long While by Lisa Olstein
More Than Enough by Marge Piercy
Feuerzauber by Louis Untermeyer
For more spring poems, check out the Poetry Foundation’s spring poems:
Sunday May 2, 7 PM
Performing Edgar Allan Poe
We’ll consider what makes Poe’s famous poem, The Raven, so conducive to dramatic performance. Here’s the text of the poem:
Here’s a dramatic performance of The Raven.
I found this video useful if you want to see the text as it is read.
Sunday April 25, 7 PM
Does poem order matter in a manuscript and affect how different poems are read? We’ll read some parts of this article out loud together.
We will read some of the poems in this chapbook by Clay Cantrell to analyze it for poem order.
Sunday April 18, 7 PM
We’ll be talking about the Poetry Foundation’s introduction to the Harlem Renaissance by reading some classic poems together. Folks are also welcome to share other notable poems from the Harlem Renaissance. Here are some poems we might read together. You don’t have to read anything in advance:
Foredoom by Georgia Douglas Johnson
November Cotton Flower by Jean Toomer
The Negro Speaks of Rivers by Langston Hughes
Sunday April 11, 7 PM
Writer’s Workshop
Bring a poem or excerpt of any piece of writing of yours and get group feedback. (Not more than 2 pages please so we have enough time.) We’ll be doing the question format where participants write questions that they have about your poem in the chat and then the poet selects a question that they would like the group to talk about. Writers gain insight into their work, plus it is fun to talk about our work together. If you are not able to do a screen share, please email your poem to: pennapril@gmail.com
Sunday April 4, 7 PM
We’ll be reading some of the greatest hits of poems about music, as selected by the Poetry Foundation.
Blues for Almost Forgotten Music by Roxane Beth Johnson
& A wildcard pick- maybe you have a poem that you like- feel free to share that or we can pick another from the Poetry Foundation’s list.
Sunday March 28, 7 PM
We’re going to talk about what parataxis is– when you use short sentences or phrases without connecting them with conjunctions like “but.” Something poets do often. June Jordan’s poems will be good examples of parataxis so we’ll read them out loud. You don’t have to read anything in advance.
Here’s information about parataxis:
Here are poems by June Jordan:
Poem About My Rights
Here is a complex literary analysis on parataxis. June Jordan’s work is first mentioned on p. 289.
Sunday March 21st, 7 PM
We’ll read together poems about chronic illness and disability. Poetry as a way of making sense of these experiences…What can we learn about turning pain into language, resistance & rebellion?
Liv Mammone, Surgery Psalm
Hieu Minh Nguyen, Type II
Natalie E. Illum, I know It’s Easier For You
The Poetry Foundation has a lot of poems on this topic if you are interested in further reading.
Sunday March 14, 7 PM
Writer’s Workshop
Bring a poem or excerpt of any piece of writing of yours (you’re encouraged to bring a poem in form but that’s just a suggestion) and get group feedback. (Not more than 2 pages please so we have enough time.) We’ll be doing the question format where participants write questions that they have about your poem in the chat and then the poet selects a question that they would like the group to talk about. Writers gain insight into their work, plus it is fun to talk about our work together. If you are not able to do a screen share, please email your poem to: pennapril@gmail.com
Sunday March 7, 7 PM
What is the modern sonnet? If you write a poem that is 14 lines, does that count as a sonnet (given that you can break all the original rules)? Let’s explore the modern sonnet. Here’s a couple of introductory resources, followed by modern sonnets that we’ll read together. No need to read in advance. This will prepare us for a writer’s workshop that focuses on poems written in form.
Info about how to write a sonnet
History of the sonnet and modern-day look at the sonnet
Sonnets to read together:
Terrance Hayes, American Sonnet for My Past and Future Assassin
Sam Rush, Sonnet for speech too soft & you who’ve yet to choose a name
Jay Deshpande, Sonnet Written Walking Under The Mess Some Magnolia Made
Sunday February 28, 7 PM
From Arthur Rimbaud to Rachel McKibbens, we’ll be looking at the influence of surrealism in art and poetry. We’ll start with surrealist paintings by Remedios Varo and discuss the elements of surrealism. (Note-you don’t have to read anything in advance unless you want to. We’ll show the images and read the poems together.)
Arthur Rimbaud- A Season In Hell
Sunday February 21, 7 PM
Writer’s Workshop:
Bring a poem or excerpt of any piece of writing of yours and get group feedback. (Not more than 2 pages please so we have time for everyone.) We’ll be doing the question format where participants write questions that they have about your poem in the chat and then the poet selects a question that they would like the group to talk about. Writers gain insight into their work, plus it is fun to talk about our work together. If you are not able to do a screen share, please email your poem to: pennapril@gmail.com
Sunday February 14, 7 PM
Plato’s Republic, written in 380 BC, is perhaps most famous for the Allegory of the Cave. We’ll be reading parts of the famous passage out loud in the group so you don’t have to read in advance unless you want to. I found a YouTube video that explains Plato’s allegory. Also here is Book 7 of Plato’s Republic where you will find the allegory of the cave discussion.
Sunday February 7, 4:30 PM
We’ll be discussing etymology–the origin of a word and the historical development of its meaning– by reading poems that deal with etymology. Here are the poems we’ll be reading:
Touchy by Elizabeth Bradfield
Threshing the Word: Sappho and a Particle Physics of Language
by Meredith Stricker
etymology
by Airea D. Matthews
Sunday January 31, 7 PM
What is elliptical poetry? Are these “elliptical” poets similar to each other? What post-modern qualities do they have in common?
Here’s the Boston Review article that coined the term “elliptical.”
We’ll be reading out loud these poems:
Alphabet’s End by Susan Wheeler
Extreme Wisteria by Lucie Brock-Broido
Back to Country by Liam Rector
Sunday January 24, 7 PM
Radical Trans Poetics: LGBTQIA Poets On Gender & Language
We’ll be reading two poems from An Anthology of Radical Trans Poetics as well as two poems by torrin a greathouse. If we have time, we’ll also read a poem by Eileen Myles. Through a close reading of these poems, we’ll talk about some of the characteristics of radical trans poetics and what we can learn about language/identity/body etc… If anyone is interested in further reading, here is an interview with Emerson Whitney I found interesting and here’s a list of LGBT poets and writers. Also check out authors from the Radical Trans Poetics anthology here on YouTube reading their own work.
Sunday, January 17, 7 PM
Writer’s Workshop: Flash Fiction & Narrative Poetry
Bring your flash fiction (very short stories) or your narrative poetry and get feedback about it. Maximum of two pages. If the writing is very short, you may put multiple works on the page. We’ll be doing the question format where participants write questions that they have about your poem in the chat and then the writer selects a question that they would like the group to talk about. Writers gain insight into their work, plus it is fun to talk about our work together. If you are not able to do a screen share, please email your work to: pennapril@gmail.com
Sunday, January 10, 7 PM
An Introduction to Flash Fiction
Sunday January 3, 7 PM
Poetry of the Bubonic Plague and Beyond
What does the poetry of the Bubonic Plague have to teach us about the influence of plagues on art and culture? How will our current times affect the future of poetry? Are past plagues a looking glass into the future or something else entirely?
We’ll discuss Danse Macabre: Totentanz by Bernt Notke. Here is an intro:
And here is a blog that has the text of Totentanz if you scroll down.
Here’s a general article about poetry and plague.
For further reading, here is an article with various plague related poems.
Sunday December 27, 7 PM
Writer’s Workshop
Sunday December 20, 7 PM
Poetry in Translation: Translation from Irish, Greek & More focusing on the question: What are challenges of translation and what does that teach us about language?
Why I Choose To Write In Irish
Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill, also in Poetry Foundation here
Easter Rising 1916: Mise Éire / I am Ireland by Pádraig Pearse
Sunday December 13, 7 PM
What is it like to experience the beauty of poetry? How do we also experience the sublime? Why do we make art? Let’s take a look at Immanuel Kant’s theories to help us connect with poetry more deeply. Check out this video here for more information: We will be reading these two poems together:
John Keats’ Ode on A Grecian Urn
Reginald Shepherd’s The Friend
Sunday December 6, 7 PM
Beat Poetry Night
Here are the poems we will read out loud:
An Exercise In Love by Diane Di Prima
A Supermarket in California by Allen Ginsberg
Mid-August at Sourdough Mountain Lookout by Gary Snyder
Sunday November 29, 7 PM
Writer’s Workshop: Bring a poem or excerpt of any piece of writing of yours and get group feedback. (Not more than 2 pages please so we have time for everyone.) We’ll be doing the question format where participants write questions that they have about your poem in the chat and then the poet selects a question that they would like the group to talk about. Writers gain insight into their work, plus it is fun to talk about our work together. If you are not able to do a screen share, please email your poem to: pennapril@gmail.com
Sunday November 22, 7 PM
Background of experimental writing
An example of concrete poetry: Marilyn Nelson’s Fingers Remember
Gertrude Stein reading If I Told Him a Completed Portrait of Picasso
Michael F. Gill talking about his conceptual piece where he repeats the word “grapefruit” for hours
Sunday, November 15, 7 PM
British Romanticism: Wordsworth & Keats
I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud by William Wordsworth
Ode On A Grecian Urn by John Keats
Extra Readings for the poet nerds:
Poem Guide to John Keats’ Ode On A Grecian Urn
Observations Prefixed to Lyrical Ballads by William Wordsworth
Selections from Keats’ Letters
Sunday, November 8, 2020, 7 PM
The Intimacy of Superstition: How do poets use superstition to create intimacy in their work? Is superstition a believed act of the imagination? How do we mix belief with the unbelievable to create connection with readers?
Check out Aimee Nezhukumatathil’s article, The Poetry of Superstition and Supposition, and try one of the prompts if you’d like.
We will read out loud and discuss these poems:
Superstition by Ashley August
Superstition by Amy Lowell
Sunday, November 1, 2020, 7 PM
The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe (Read by Suzanne O’Toole)
Current day examples of “Gothic”: Daphne Gottlieb, C Bain, Cassandra de Alba
Sunday, October 25, 2020, 7PM
Writer’s Workshop
Sunday, October 18, 2020
Our topic tonight is Imagism. Here is an Imagism 101 Introduction.
Here are Imagist poems we’ll be reading and discussing :
13 Ways of Looking At A Blackbird by Wallace Stevens
The River-Merchant’s Wife: A Letter by Ezra Pound
Here are some additional readings and information in case you are interested:
No More Cane (Charlie says “No More Cane is a traditional roots song ascribed to Leadbelly and performed by many including Odetta and The Band. I am interested in that because it would be considered oral and dialectic poetry but fulfills quite nicely the ideals of imagism.”)
T.S. Elliot Objective correlative
An article on the Eastern influence on American Imagism
Sunday, October 11, 2020 at 7 PM
Line Breaks In Poetry:
Poetic Devices Explained: Line Breaks
Sunday, October 4, 2020 at 7 PM
Wildcard Warm up
We’ll discuss reading this poetic essay by Natalie Diaz: If What I Mean Is Hummingbird, If What I Mean Is Fall Into My Mouth
Also we’ll use this video by Ethan Hawke as a way to give ourselves permission to be creative.
Sunday September 27, 2020 at 7 PM
Wildcard Warm ups
Discussion of Is “Show Don’t Tell” a Universal Truth or a Colonial Relic? By Namrata Poddar
Please add to our list of meeting topic ideas here. If you’d like to submit a topic proposal for a future meeting, please email pennapril@gmail.com the following information: Meeting Topic Title, A Brief Description of the Topic, Links or PDFs of readings/resources that we will use.
Sunday September 20, 2020 at 7 PM
Intros
Writer’s Workshop: Please bring a poem that you wrote or an excerpt of any piece of writing written by you (1-2 pages max). You read your work out loud to the group and then others type questions that they have about the work into the chat. You pick your favorite 2 questions and then the group discusses your work based on those questions.
Please add to our list of meeting topic ideas here. If you’d like to submit a topic proposal for a future meeting, please email pennapril@gmail.com the following information: Meeting Topic Title, A Brief Description of the Topic, Links or PDFs of readings/resources that we will use.
Date: Sunday, September 13, 2020 @ 7 PM
Intros
Wildcard Warm Up(s)
Discuss Will Harris On The Idea of Poetry As Interconnectedness
Date: 09/06/2020, 7 PM (via Zoom)
Intros
Wild Card Warm Up (One or more participants may share a poem that the group then talks about.)
Discuss Article (Please note we won’t be discussing this article until the second meeting, but this is an example of what we may read and discuss in this group.) Will Harris On The Idea of Poetry As Interconnectedness
DIY MFA 