RSVP for Introduction to Poetry: On Nostalgia and Image

media release: Saturday, May 18, 2024 | 1-3p. Deadline to register: May 15, 2024

In this workshop, we will focus on the concept of poetic “image,” with the goal of becoming better witnesses to the world. By interrogating the images of our memory and everyday lives, we will practice imparting our noticing into aspects of our creative work. All experience levels are welcome (seriously, no poetry prerequisites required!), and we will begin by establishing a basic, shared language of poetic craft. You can expect to leave this workshop with a more thoughtful and pragmatic creative process and a draft of poetry.

Students should bring a notebook or notepad and a pencil or pen, or a laptop, etc., to draft their poems with.

Steven Espada Dawson is from East Los Angeles. The son of a Mexican immigrant, he is a former Halls Fellow at the Wisconsin Institute for Creative Writing and Ruth Lilly Fellow at the Poetry Foundation. His writing has been anthologized in Pushcart Prize, Best New Poets, and Sarabande’s Another Last Call. His poems appear most recently in Guernica, Gulf Coast, Kenyon Review, Ninth Letter, and Poetry Magazine. He has taught creative writing at colleges, community workshops, and prisons across the country.