Calling ALL Writers to Poetry Workshops
Second Saturdays of the month 9:00 - 12:00
Second Saturday Poetry Workshops
Sponsored by The Ritzenthaler Family Foundation
Debra Bruce – April 13, 2013
Debra Bruce’s latest book of poetry, Survivors’ Picnic, was published in 2012 by Word Press. She is the author of three previous collections, Pure Daughter and Sudden Hunger, both from the University of Arkansas Press, and What Wind Will Do, from Miami University Press. Her work has been published widely in journals, including The Atlantic, Poetry, Prairie Schooner, Virginia Quarterly Review, and others.
Sudden Hunger received the Carl Sandburg Award from the Chicago Public Library, and her work has also received grants and prizes from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Illinois Arts Council, the Poetry Society of America, and Poetry magazine. Originally from Albany, New York, Debra lives in Chicago where she is a professor emeritus at Northeastern Illinois University.
The 21st Century Sonnet: Still Ticking
The sonnet keeps showing up—in classrooms, on sonnet websites, and of course at weddings. But contemporary sonnets don’t speak in thee and thou; their language is colloquial, and their subjects range from love (of course) to sex, dysfunctional families, racism, and many others. This class will explore some new versions of this old and hallowed form, explaining its inner workings and showing how a 21st century poet can pack into it the powerful words and images of today’s world.
Sarah Carson – May 11, 2013
Sarah Carson was born and raised in Flint, Michigan but now lives in Chicago with her dog, Amos. She is the author of three chapbooks: Before Onstar (Etched Press, 2010), Twenty-Two (Finishing Line Press, 2011), and When You Leave (H_NGM_N, 2012). When she’s not writing poems, she has a full time job telling stories about how awesome the world can be when people care about each other. Sometimes she blogs at sarahamycarson.wordpress.com.
Where Does a Poem Come from Anyway?
Every poet encounters writer’s block. There are all kinds of writing prompts out there to help us get through such a slump. But instead of treating the symptoms, let’s examine the root of the disease. We’ll read what other writers have had to say about where authentic writing comes from and work to set ourselves on a course to find and cultivate our own voices—even when it seems like there’s nothing worth writing about.
Maureen Flannery – June 8, 2013
Maureen Tolman Flannery’s most recent volume of poems is Tunnel into Morning. Her other books include Destiny Whispers to the Beloved, A Fine Line, and the Pulitzer-Prize-nominated Ancestors in the Landscape. Although she grew up in a Wyoming sheep ranch family, Maureen and her actor husband Dan have raised their four children in Chicago. Her poems have appeared in fifty anthologies and two hundred literary reviews, including Birmingham Poetry Review, Xavier Review, Calyx,Pedestal, Atlanta Review, Karamu, North American Review, Poetry East, and Santa Fe Literary Review.
Write-Explore Your Ancestry
Would you like your imagination to take you deeper into your roots?
Try writing about what you know and what your ponder with regard to family members who have preceded you. How might your poetic attention bring the generational patterns, mysteries, and secrets to light.
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Please bring 15 copies of your poem(s).
There will be ample time for individual critiques at each session.
Workshops take place at the Palatine Public Library, 700 N. North Court, Palatine, IL 60067
To download a PDF registration form to attend workshops,
CLICK HERE.
Responses to questionnaires indicated that participants want: short lectures; critiques of their poems; and short writing exercises so sessions will cover all three interests.
