birthday parties

A series celebrating the lives and legacies of late poets on their birthdays.

Next Session: TBD

Location: Virtual

Spots: Unlimited

Cost: $25

Birthday Parties is a series of single-session classes designed to celebrate late poets and keep them alive——primarily by spending time with their poems, where we discover their voices in the present tense. Each session is dedicated to one poet, held on their birthday, and features a brief lecture on their life and legacy, group discussion of a small selection of poems (and, occasionally, some accompanying prose), and generative writing prompts borrowing from the techniques and qualities of the selected poems. Open to poets and readers of all levels; ideal for those looking to discover new poets, learn what all the hype is about, fangirl favs as a group, and, of course, write new poems. Previous parties have been held for Joanne Kyger, James Tate, Jack Spicer, Alda Merini, and Bob Kaufman.

takeaways

- Discover new poets or discuss favs in a group setting

- Learn new techniques, activities, and prompts for generating poems by studying their work closely

- Strengthen your craft analysis and close reading skills by reading assigned work, thinking critically and creatively about it ahead of class time, and participating in class discussion

- Build community with fellow poets, take risks together, and become more comfortable talking about poems

expectations

These classes last two hours. Ahead of class, you will be assigned a few readings, which you can choose to review in advance if you'd like. During class, you'll be expected to participate in discussion and try out the writing prompts. If time allows, you'll be welcome to share your work, though no formal/written feedback will be offered.

"What seems genuine, truly real, is thinking of you, how / that makes me feel. You are dead. And you'll never / write again about the country, that's true. / But the people in the sky really love / to have dinner & to take a walk with you."

–Ted Berrigan, "Frank O'Hara"