In his book Praises and Dispraises: Poetry and Politics in the Twentieth Century, Terrence des Pres points out that because of mass communication, we now live with “a uniquely twentieth-century sense of reality, [and] a climate of atrocity is now our daily fare.” He adds that, faced with this reality, poets have two options—evasion or engagement—and believes that “poetry that evades our being-in-the-world affords no happy fortitude, no language to live by, gifts that have always been the poet’s job.” How to engage the world and “bear witness” in “language to live by” is what we will explore in this workshop. We will read and discuss examples of political poetry, and then use a series of writing exercises to help us explore our own response to “our daily fare” of “atrocity.”
Edwina Trentham is a Professor Emeritus of English at Asnuntuck Community College in Enfield, Connecticut, where she still teaches creative writing, various poetry courses, and also edits the poetry journal, Freshwater, whichshe founded andwhich is in its fourteenth year of publication. For additional information go to edwinatrentham.com.
Admittance is $30 for museum members, $35 for members-to-be. For information or to register, contact Sarah Wadsworth at 860.677.4787 ext 134 or wadsworths@hillstead.org. Workshops fill fast – reserve your spot today!
