Workshopping Again: New Venue, New Approach

 

It’s been some time since I’ve facilitated one of my RANDOM WRITING workshops. Even pre-Pandemic, I struggled to find a venue and to frame the perimeters of a series. After having coffee with Will Nixon about six months ago, I realized that Lissa Kiernan and I had been batting this idea around for a couple years, and that I should just go ahead and formally propose it to her, to be held at the Poetry Barn in Hurley.

In this age of transformation in Ulster County, the Poetry Barn is one of those nice additions that does much to enhance the artistic landscape. Poetry in particular has always been the red-headed stepchild of the arts, and to have a permanent facility devoted to its promotion, via workshops, book signings, and a lending library, is a fortunate occurrence indeed. Readings wander from home to home, at the mercy of capitalist whims and needs. A series will go on for a year or two, then suddenly cease when the gallery or bar closes, or when the demands of a so-called public space become too much for a moderator to bear.

The Poetry Barn has proven itself for almost six years now, and I am happy to report that I will be instigating a four-part workshop series there in July. I say “instigate” because I don’t really believe the writing of poetry can be taught. Examples of forms can be offered, triggers for memory or emotion can be displayed, but I believe that anyone in attendance already has an innate sense of what poetry is to them, and where they want to go with their work. I enjoy this group format because it’s more efficient than sending work out to various publishers and receiving little to no feedback, even if poems are accepted for inclusion.

I believe above all else that poems are a form of communication, be they literal, abstract, or tethered to a rigid form. Words are for relating ideas or emotions to other humans. If the message isn’t getting across, wouldn’t you want to know before years pass? I’ve certainly come across many poets who, instead of striving for clarity, defend the words they’ve chosen. Often these arguments go on for longer than the poem in question! If your goal is mere entertainment, smokes and mirrors without substance, have at it. I think words deserve better.

Of course, for me sincerity carries a lot of weight in a poem. The more one writes, the clearer one’s ideas will usually become. If you begin by discarding cliches, avoid regurgitating notions you’ve seen in the Hallmark card aisle, that’s as solid a start as one can hope for. And if you never show anyone your poems, I think it’s a terrible shame. But it is your choice. I understand fear of criticism, or worse, no reaction at all. But poems live their fullest lives out in the open. We live our best life as poets when we put the words out for others to consider.

Poetry has made my life delicious. It’s a portable art that requires no more of an investment than paper and pen. And I do insist on handheld writing instruments for first drafts. In this age of computer word programs, a pen will slow one down just enough to see what comes next. Paper is no commitment, by any means. Rewriting is common, and I even go back to my first drafts if I feel the third or fourth version is falling a little flat. There I’ll find a few of the original sparks that drove me to write in the first place.

My RANDOM WRITING  workshop series at the Poetry Barn is on July 7,14, 21 & 28, from 6:30- 8:30pm. Tuition is $150 for all four sessions, and there may even still be a scholarship spot available. For more information, please go to https://www.poetrybarn.co/ for more information.

 See you there?