Reading Contemporary Poetry - January 2024

Join Marion and Barbara to discuss these celebrated books by three masters of modern poetry.

We will begin with Present Company, by W.S. Merwin, a collection of meditative and perceptive odes to everyday objects and events, then move to Song, by Brigit Pegeen Kelly, a book of highly imaginative, haunting lyric poems that hold both a spiritual and magical quality. We’ll end with Stanley Kunitz’s Passing Through, which gathers the poet’s new and selected work―highly personal lyric and narrative poems that are by turns heartbreaking and celebratory.

No matter how familiar you are with poetry, we invite you to an open and welcoming conversation. Every session will offer several generative prompts based on the topics and poetic style exemplified by each of the three books.

Instructors:
Marion Starling Boyer’s Ice Hours was selected for the 2021 Wheelbarrow Books Poetry Prize, to be released January 2023 from Michigan State University Press. She is author of The Sea Was Never Far, The Clock of the Long Now, and Composing the Rain, winner of Grayson Books’ Chapbook competition. Her work’s been nominated for Pushcarts, the Lenore Marshall Award, and “Best of the Net.” A professor emeritus for Kalamazoo Valley Community College, Boyer conducts workshops for Lit Cleveland and Lit Youngstown. She lives in Twinsburg, which hosts the world record gathering of twins every summer. For more link to www.marionstarlingboyer.com

Barbara Sabol’s fifth collection, core & all: haiku and senryu, was published by Bird Dog Press in 2022. She is the associate editor of Sheila-Na-Gig online, and is the editor of the anthology, Sharing this Delicate Bread: Selections from Sheila-Na-Gig online (2016-2021). Barbara’s honors include an Individual Excellence Award from the Ohio Arts Council and the Mary Jean Irion Poetry Prize. Her work has received both Pushcart and Touchstone award nominations. She conducts poetry workshops for community literary organizations. Barbara lives in Akron, OH with her husband and wonder dogs.

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Details: Reading Contemporary Poetry - January 2024 takes place Tuesdays January 16, January 30, and February 13 from 1-3pm remotely through Zoom.

Genre: Poetry

Level: All experience levels welcome.

Format: Literary analysis and discussion with generative writing outside of class.

Location: This class takes place remotely online via Zoom.

Size: Limited to 15 participants (including scholarships).

Suggested Sequence: Follow this class with a craft and/or generative poetry workshop.

Scholarships: Two scholarship spots are available for this class for writers in Northeast Ohio. Apply by December 11.

Cancellations & Refunds: Cancel at least 48 hours in advance of the first class meeting to receive a full refund. Email info@litcleveland.org.

Registration Fee

$90 - Non-Member Registration

$60 - Registration with Member Discount

I'd also like to help out other writers with a donation to the Word for Word Scholarship Fund. (This fund provides low- and limited-income writers in NE Ohio with access to our classes)

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