Grief has the ability to lock our emotions, thoughts, and body in ways we may not have known could be possible. Yanyi said it best in their book, The Year of Blue Water, “There are places I can’t go, like outside my body.” In this course we will explore grief through poetry; What shapes do our bodies take, how do we process grief, what does grief look like for each of us, how do we mend what we can’t see? In this class we will also explore what remains lingering before, during, and after death; How does society view death, how does a community grieve, how do we as a collective approach such a vulnerable topic? Throughout our time together we will read poems from Victoria Chang, Eduardo C. Corral, Marcelo Hernandez Castillo, Ocean Vuong, Susan Nguyen, jj peña, Yanyi, among others. We will discuss form, white space, imagery, the speaker’s voice, and ultimately what is at risk in each poem. The instructor will also provide time for writing in class through writing activities/prompts from poets. During the second part of the class participants will have the opportunity to create pieces, which will be workshopped in class. Writers will leave with a portfolio of 3-5 poems by the end of the class.
LIVE VIDEO CONFERENCE: This workshop will be held via our online video conferencing platform, Zoom. The dates and times will remain the same. You can view brief tutorials on using the platform here. Shortly before the start date participants will receive an email with login info. Please check your spam if you don’t see it.
If you need an accommodation for this workshop, please contact us at access@{{{{homeurl_non_www}}}}. We will attempt to fulfill all requests, but advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility services.
