Award winning poet Judith Skillman leads the free workshop from 4:30 to 6 p.m. The reading/open mic follows @ 6:15 pm. to 8:00 pm with featured readers: Judith Skillman and Brendan McBreen! (see below for bios) Facebook Event Page soon!
Workshop at Book Tree, Saturday, June 17th 4:30 pm
Judith Skillman Ars Poetica: Poems about Writing Poems
The pressure to write—where does it come from?
A definition of Ars Poetica: Ars Poetica: A term meaning "The Art of Poetry" or "On the Nature of Poetry". Early examples of Ars Poetica by Aristotle and Horace have survived and have since spawned many other poems that bear the same name. Perhaps the most recognized being Archibald MacLeish's modernist entry, ending with the well-known couplet "A poem should not mean/But be". While the term originated from poetry on poetry, it is now widely used as a literary device to enhance imagery, understanding, and profundity.
Reading & discussion of Ars Poetica poems by Brendan Galvin, Wallace Stevens, & Jack Gilbert - Prompts: Write your own Ars Poetica piece
Following the short break after the workshop we begin our reading with our two featured poets: Judith Skillman and Brendan McBreen. Then anyone can share poems or very short prose writings on our open mic. Whether you are new to writing or published consider yourself encouraged to stand up and share something you have written at the open mic.
BIOS
Judith Skillman - Her recent book is Kafka’s Shadow, Deerbrook Editions. Judith's work has appeared in Cimarron Review, Shenandoah, Zyzzyva, FIELD, and elsewhere. Awards include an Eric Mathieu King Fund grant from the Academy of American Poets. Skillman has done collaborative translations from French, Portuguese, and Macedonian. Visit www.judithskillman.com
Brendan McBreen is a poet and collage artist from Pacific WA. His new book, Cosmic Egg is now available from MoonPath press: http://moonpathpress.com/BrendanMcBreen.htm
Brendan is an event coordinator with Auburn August Fest and Poetry at the Rainbow Cafe series and a workshop presenter with Striped Water Poets. His first full length poetry collection. He has mint and violets and forget-me-nots growing wild in his small patio garden and he prefers it that way. Brendan believes the secret to making perfect lasagna is habanero. His website is here: https://sites.google.com/site/terralunapoetry/