Poetry and Short Prose: Memory That Moves

This course is for passionate writers seeking an opportunity to spend more time on their writing. The course will take the shape of a generative workshop; it will not focus on teaching writing, but rather on establishing a creative environment in which participants can further explore their minds and written work.

In this course, we will be thinking a lot about memory. Taking inspiration from theories of memory and trauma, we will consider how our writing can confront the erasure of violent or uncomfortable pasts, and shift our perception of the present. Drawing on practices of performance and activism, we will explore ways to activate our ideas and bring them off the page.

We will write every week. With the help of a series of writing prompts, we will be making new poems and short texts, in and out of class, and we will routinely share and discuss our work.

We will also dedicate time to reading and analyzing existing poetry and short prose, with a focus on works by writers of color: emerging and established. In addition to reviewing a range of texts, we will look at photography, film, street actions and other projects that have documented, memorialized, and interpreted historical events: both personal and collective.

Throughout the course, we will attempt to critically explore such questions as: What is the relationship between language and memory? What is the relationship between different art practices and memory? What can language do to memory? What can memory do to language?

While we will be writing regularly, we will each work towards producing a substantial final project. This can be carried out in text-form or any other chosen art (or non-art) form. We will plan an event or exhibit to showcase the outcome* of the course. *Most likely, the “outcome” of the course will continue to unfold in our writing practice and lives in general.

Above all, the course is meant to draw on our individual experiences and learning goals. Each participant will be invited to help shape the course and submit ideas for reading material, writing prompts, and exploratory questions.