WAITLIST only. Email programs@mainewriters.org
An 8 Week Poetry Workshop
Tuesdays, February 13th-April 2nd
ALL LEVELS
Given our world, there is always loss and grief, but also beauty, moments to celebrate and honor. In light of the terrible suffering in our world, I’ve been thinking that grieving is inevitable. But we also have an obligation to life, to live and care. So perhaps grief and affirmation are two poles poetry moves between. These states are often ones we can’t deal with head-on, but have to enter via Dickinson’s way of telling it “slant.” That might mean adding humor to grief and sadness to celebration, or surprising ourselves by not knowing where we are going. In any workshop, we end up writing whatever we can write. But we’ll start here with looking at a range of elegies and odes and play with prompts intended to open up avenues to new expressions of celebration and sorrow, whether we’re considering our own lives or the world. From there, we’ll see what happens.
For each class, we’ll look at sample poems, do quick in-class writing, and discuss each other’s response to weekly prompts. There will be weekly prompts intended to allow us to approach even hard subjects with a certain amount of artistic play.
+ PLEASE NOTE This workshop will occur IN-PERSON at USM in Portland. The week of the workshop, students will be emailed the exact class location.
+ 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 tenth collection of poetry was As If a Song Could Save You (University of Wisconsin Press in fall of 2022). Her ninth collection of poetry was House of Sparrows: New and Selected Poems (University of Wisconsin, 2019), winner of the Four Lakes Prize. Other awards include a Maine Book Award for Poetry, The Felix Pollak Prize, the AWP Prize for Poetry, an NEA Fellowship. She teaches in the MFA in Writing Program of Vermont College of Fine Arts and served as Poet Laureate of Maine from 2006 to 2011. She was awarded the 2020 Distinguished Achievement Award from Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance, and received an honorary doctorate from the University of Southern Maine in 2022.
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 207-228-8263 and register with your VISA or MasterCard.
$425 Members/$625 Nonmembers
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 by January 15 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