Poetry and the Visual Arts with Terri Witek
One of the most ancient forms of poetic practice is “ekphrasis,” in which, as John Hollander explains, poems talk back to “silent works of art.” But what happens when the works aren’t silent, are themselves composed of text, move, build a literal landscape, or face backwards? Poets in the workshop will choose from a series of challenges and try to crash/cross/question the boundaries between forms.
October 1, 2010 (9:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.)
Scarborough Library, Shepherd University
$50 fee

From Bee-keeping to Surfing: Exploring Your Own New Poems with Amy Holman
In this workshop, we will talk about how to generate ideas for new poems when we are in a rut, and specifically, how to take one's interests and curiosities in life and expand them to new places in poetry. We will read examples of poems that draw on biology, math, society, bee-keeping, hedge funds, surfing, and other subjects. We will try exercises to produce the beginnings of new poems, and talk a bit about when one should think about shaping a collection, whether the size of a chapbook or longer.
October 1, 2010 (3:15 p.m. – 5:45 p.m.)
Scarborough Library, Shepherd University
$50 fee

Icon, Painting, Picture, Portrait, Headshot, Cameo: the Vicissitudes of Translation with Michael Collier
Working from a literal rendering of a poem by the twentieth-century Greek poet C.P. Cavafy, we will try our hand at fashioning our own translation. We will also look at five published, translated versions of the same poem after we have completed ours. The exercise will give us first-hand experience with the difficulties translators face when making decisions regarding diction, syntax, lineation, and form, but it will also create a microclimate of the atmosphere we inhabit when working on our own poems, especially later drafts. Materials will be sent to participants two weeks in advance of our meeting.
October 2, 2010 (9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.)
Scarborough Library, Shepherd University $50 fee

Yoga and Poetry with Christa Mastrangelo Joyce
Energize your current writing practice with yoga. Christa Mastrangelo Joyce will guide you through a flowing and joyful practice meant to ignite your creative energy. Learn how the creative process can be enriched by a yoga practice. Class will culminate with writing exercises.
October 3, 2010 (10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m)
Mellow Moods 111 East German Street (upstairs).
$20 fee
Limited to 18 participants

The organizers of the Sotto Voce Poetry Festival reserve the right to make changes to any aspect of the Festival as necessary.