The Poetry Project

TO NEITHER EXTREME: TEXTS FROM OTHER CENTURIES AND THE WORKS CONTEMPORARY POETS MAKE FROM THEM – KAREN WEISER

FRIDAYS AT 7PM: 10 SESSIONS BEGIN OCTOBER 8^TH

So much of how we think of history comes to us in the form of narratives. What happens to our understanding when that text from the past is poetry or is re-visioned into poetry? How do poets work with historical texts or different kinds of older disciplinary narratives? For a brief period early scientific texts were poems, and yet our culture seems to have mostly forgotten that poetry has the capacity to be wide in what it attempts to do or think through. Lisa Robertson writes in the poem “Palinode/”: “Though my object is history, not neutrality / I am prepared to adhere to neither extreme.” My hope is that we can explore our own writing as it comes out of a reading practice, considering history without feeling inclined to “adhere” to its formulations. We will look at pairings made up of contemporary poems and the works (or historical subjects) they converse with, seriously engaging both texts on their own terms and together, while writing poems that make use of the past to open new vistas of inquiry.   Some texts will include selections from: A Key Into the Language of America by Rosmarie Waldrop and A Key Into the Language of America by Roger Williams; Fred Moten’s Hughson’s Tavern and Jill Lepore’s New York Burning; and Aaron Kunin’s The Sore Throat and William James The Principles of Psychology, Vol. 1. ; Lisa Robertson’s R’s Boat and Rousseau’s “Fifth Walk”; Elizabeth Willis’s Meteoric Flowers and Erasmus Darwin’s The Botanic Garden; Susan Howe’s “Thorow” and Thoreau’s Walden. Karen Weiser’s first book of poems, To Light Out, was published by Ugly Duckling Presse in the Spring of 2010. She is a doctoral candidate at the CUNY Graduate Center studying early American literature.

Posted Tuesday, August 31st, 2010 in Program Calendar, Workshops

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POETRY ON THE FLY – JOEL LEWIS

SATURDAYS AT NOON: 5 SESSIONS BEGIN OCTOBER 9th

Although the contemporary trend in poetry tends towards book-length projects and beyond, what is a poet to do when she lives on the fringes of a far-away “up & coming” neighborhood, shares an apartment with 5 other people (three of which are in a band) and juggles a series of poorly paying and widely scattered teaching jobs? This workshop focuses on the art of writing where you happen to be and taking advantage of a few snatched moments in a coffee bar or on a seat in a slowly moving “G” train. Working paradigms include Frank O’Hara ‘s Lunch Poems, written during the noon sup on a stationary store’s chained typewriter (instructor will explain this piece of equipment to those under 30), Philip Whalen’s poetry of notebooks compressed into viable worlds, Paul Blackburn’s subway poems and his open-form Journals project & Joan Kyger’s in-the-moment poetics. Requirements for class are: a notebook, some form of writing device and a Metro Card with some money on it. Joel Lewis travels to work via ferry, light rail subway, bus and goat cart to his social work gig on Staten Island — always with a roller ball pen & Moleskine® notebook at his ready. He is considered the sole member of the 4th generation of New York School Poets, while serving as the poetic conscious for the state of New Jersey. With that in mind, his most recent book is Learning From New Jersey (Talisman House).

Posted Tuesday, August 31st, 2010 in Program Calendar, Workshops

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OUT OF YOUR MIND (AND IN YOUR BODY): A MOVEMENT WORKSHOP FOR WRITERS – SALLY SILVERS

TUESDAYS AT 7PM: 10 SESSIONS BEGIN OCTOBER 12^TH

This is a movement workshop for writers who want to explore creating movement out of words and writing out of movement. No dance, theater, or athletic ability/experience is required. Dancers or choreographers who want to work with language and with untrained movers are also very welcome.  We’ll start with a physical warm up designed to fire up your senses, center you in your body, and get your creative juices flowing.  We’ll explore ways of writing inspired by movement.  We’ll look at people moving on video (from Jerry Lewis, and Robin Williams to sports to break dancing, from Yvonne Rainer, Douglas Dunn, Bill T. Jones to my own dances) with an eye toward new kinds of writing:  texts to accompany performance, to combine poetry with documentation, that designs movement or is energized by it.  We’ll look at some texts that have inspired or accompanied dance & performance (from Emily Dickinson to Vito Acconci to John Cage, etc.)  And we’ll especially look at our own writing to imagine performing it  & putting it in motion. Through collaborations, talking about videos, writing and editing together and alone, we’ll create performances that spotlight the experiments that start with our bodies. When you stimulate your body, your creative process comes alive in ways that will amaze you.  Let’s open some new horizons for your writing.  Did I already say no movement training or dance experience necessary? Wear or bring comfortable clothes & shoes. Sally Silvers is writer/ choreographer who has been making dances and texts for 30 years.  Her first group work featured non-dancer poets.  She also currently dances for Yvonne Rainer.  Read her interview with long-term collaborator Bruce Andrews by Erica Kaufman in The Poetry Project Newsletter online.



Posted Tuesday, August 31st, 2010 in Program Calendar, Workshops

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