Poets & Writers

Indeed, war is hell, but so too are many of the other experiences that often visit our lives, including intimate partner violence, adverse childhood experiences, genocide, and even the catastrophic effects of climate change. Can we, as a society for whom depictions of violence are constantly accessible, write about it in poetry in ways that respect the enormity of these experiences? In this workshop, we will look closely at poetry from the past and present to discuss how to create work that speaks truth to violence without trivializing it, glorifying destruction, or worse, reducing the subject matter to a game of creating the most beautiful image and metaphor. We will leave with some good discussions under our belts and, of course, some good poem drafts.