on poetry

“For me, it’s less a matter of inspiration and more a matter of process. I carry a little notebook in my pocket and throughout the day I overhear things, remember things or think of things and jot down notes and then every morning before it gets light, I have an appointment with myself and take out my notebook and pick something that caught my attention and find out what it wants to be.”
Kim Stafford
(b. October 15, 1949)

. . . . .
photo by Brooke Herbert
quote

2020–2021 Lineup for Word Works

Hugo House has announced the lineup for Word Works: Writers on Writing 2020–2021. “Word Works craft talks focus on writing as process rather than finished product, examining how language works to inspire and provoke new ideas through lectures and live close readings of the writer’s own or others’ work.”

Each program features a different presenter and topic:

• Porochista Khakpour: Writing Toward & Against Identity – December 4, 2020
• Lauren Groff: Fiction’s Hidden Architectures – February 5, 2021
• Jericho Brown: Nonsense and Senselessness – March 5, 2021
• Melissa Febos: In Praise of the Confessional – April 9, 2021
• Joy Harjo: Our Songs Came Through – April 23, 2021
• Russell Banks: Memory, Abandonment, and Betrayal – May 14, 2021

All Word Works events this season will be held online. Series passes and single-event tickets are now available. See the Word Works page for details on the presenters, topics, and tickets.

process

The other day, we posted on the subject of what editors want. Today we look at the other mysterious aspect of writing: How a Poem Happens.

In each posting of his blog, poet, teacher and editor Brian Brodeur introduces and then interviews a poet. They discuss a single poem, which is included in the post. Although Brodeur doesn’t post as often as he did in the first several years, the archive of poets is long and there’s much insight to be gained from reading what they say about their process.

Have a look: How a Poem Happens.