Calendar Alert: Lit Programs at Great River Arts

Great River Arts Institute in Bellows Falls, VT, just announced five workshops with poets in mind. In addition to the e-mail given with each, the institute can be reached at grai@sover.net and on the web site, www.greatriverarts.org. Note that Patricia Fargnoli, who's presenting the fifth of these, is New Hampshire's Poet Laureate. And the fourth event is presented by the ever-traveling Wyn Cooper (see today's other post).

Wed-Sun, April 16-20: Great River Arts Institute, Bellows Falls. Taking Your Story Out of Your Head and Into the World: A Memoir Blogging Workshop With Kathe Izzo; 4-day workshop with evening introduction, limited to 10 participants, $600. Incorporating provocative exercises that stir the pot of memory and creativity, this workshop promises to take your poems & stories to the next juicy and intriguing level, pushing yourself beyond what you already know about yourself. Then, utilizing simple web design techniques, you will take these stories to the web, making them immediate and accessible to your friends, families and the world. A multi-media approach, with the possibilities of innovative layouts and graphic design, manipulation of photographs, simple videos and music if desired. For registration contact: alexis@greatriverarts.org.

Sat-Sun, April 26-27: Great River Arts Institute, Bellows Falls. Call and Response: The Ekphrastic Impulse in Poetry with Nate Pritts; 2-day workshop, limited to 10 participants, $300. All people have a natural tendency to react to the happenings around themselves. This inspiration can sometimes take the form of ekphrastic writing – a fancy Greek term that is used today to indicate a work of art that has been generated in response to another work of art. In this intensive workshop, participants will interpret that term to mean a poem that is generated in direct response to something (anything) where those traces are still pronounced in the finished piece. Through studying models, exercises, and direct pairing with visual artists as they produce, participants will find themselves more open to the varied impulses, while encouraging a more open receptivity to all forms of “art." For registration contact: alexis@greatriverarts.org.

Fri-Sat, May 9-11: Great River Arts Institute, Bellows Falls. Into the Woods: Poems from Nature with Linda Aldrich; three-day workshop, limited to 10 participants, $450. This poetry workshop will focus on the varied ways nature surrounds and inhabits our writing. Participants will read nature-based poems by well-known writers to study how natural images are used. Are they records of witness? Metaphors for human existence? Reflections of or triggers for the inner emotional state of the speaker? You will walk into natural landscapes to do some writing of your own and will let writing exercises further the discovery. New writing will be emphasized for workshop and discussion. For registration contact: alexis@greatriverarts.org.

Thu-Fri, May 15-17: Great River Arts Institute, Bellows Falls. Advanced Poetry Workshop with Wyn Cooper; three-day workshop, afternoons, with evening readings, limited to 8 participants, $250. This poetry workshop will help students polish their poems for publication. Rather than mutual back-patting, honest criticism will be encouraged. It’s Wyn’s belief that you can’t improve as a poet unless your teacher and your fellow students are honest with you. Each student will submit one or two poems in advance of the workshop. The poems will be read aloud and critiqued during the workshop, with careful attention paid to the following questions: What is the poem trying to do? Is it successful? How can it be improved? New poems will be generated using writing exercises. Finally, Wyn will discuss how and where to send poems for possible publication. For registration contact: alexis@greatriverarts.org.

Sat-Sun, July 12-13: Great River Arts Institute, Bellows Falls. Relationships with Space with Patricia Fargnoli; two–day workshop, limited to 8 participants, $350. This is a workshop for intermediate and advanced poets interested in the use of personal and public spaces in poems. Participants will explore the concept of spaces as symbolic and/or triggering landscapes, and read poems from several poets that illustrate the possibilities for the use of "place." The major emphasis will be on creating new poems/drafts based on a series of exercises and prompts. On one day, participants will explore some of the outdoor landscapes and public spaces in the area for their "poem potential," and, on the other, they will talk and write about domestic spaces such as our homes, gardens, and other interiors. In addition, participants should bring with them one of their own poems in which "place" plays a prominent role (along with enough copies for everyone in the workshop). For registration contact: alexis@greatriverarts.org.