Learn to write the Flamenca, a poetic form resembling the rhythms of Flamenco, with award-winning poet María Fernanda. The Flamenca is a cinquian (or a five-line stanza) with defined assonant and syllabic structures. Participants will learn the technique of the original Flamenca literary form, which is defined as mimicking the “clicking” of the flamenco dancer’s heels, however flamenco dancers’ heels stomp and castanets click. With this in mind, María Fernanda will also introduce participants to her expansion on the poetic form. She aligns the flamenco dancer’s percussive footwork—planta, tacón, punta, talón—with the sounds in the Latin alphabet and also pairs flamenco props—floorboard, castanets, and fan—with literary devices. Participants will read examples of the Flamenca form, write their own poem(s), and learn the various cultural influences on Flamenco with an emphasis on Black diasporic perspectives (contemporary and historic).
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About María Fernanda
María Fernanda (she/her) is a poet whose work explores, “the breaking and making of family,” (OkayAfrica). Awarded the The Norma Elia Cantú Award in Creative Writing, María Fernanda has performed at Lincoln Center, The Kennedy Center, The Phoenix Art Museum, and more. Read her latest work in The Hill Rag.
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