Wednesdays@One poetry has gotten lazy over the pandemic. That may be my fault. I've been lax in devising new projects that might excite folks to try new styles and to take some risks with their writing.
I'm going to start fixing that with this next project:
ProjectTake a trip, metaphorically speaking. I want you all to stop writing for the remainder of November and explore poetic lands that you've never visited or may not have visited recently. I want you to put down your pens, so to speak, and pick up a book (or a few web pages) and read from among the following:Above are links to the web pages of poets reflecting a wide assortment of interests and backgrounds, styles and poetic inspirations, from writers who identify as Native American (Kenzie Allen, Moncho Alvarado) to Caribbean (Richard Georges), Arab American (Youssef Alaoui) and Buddhist (Mary Gililand). Don't assume that each writer's work is "Arab" or "Buddhist" or "Native American" per se. But try reading as much from each of these writers as you can find online, hoping to expose yourself to themes, points of view, styles, traditions that aren't white, Anglo-Saxon, and "Norton Literature."
Read liberally from Kevin Young's poetry, for general discussion purposes. BUT SELECT ONE POEM FROM ONE OF THE OTHER AUTHORS LISTED ABOVE THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO DISCUSS WITH THE GROUP. READ IT CAREFULLY--IN FACT, STUDY IT--AND LET ME KNOW WHICH POEM YOU HAVE IN MIND (you might copy and paste it into an email to me so I can insert it into a file for sharing).
We will complete this exploration over the next three W@1 salons (November 17, 24 and December 1), rather than share our own work. I am asking you NOT to select your own writers but to work from those in the group listed above. If you're having trouble accessing any of this work, let me know and I will select some poems for you to read.
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