Playing with Poetry

In this workshop, we will go over examples of what is canonically understood to constitute a poem, and subsequently apply that logic to less traditional or “non-poetic” forms. Investigating the liminal space between what does and doesn’t count as a poem will breed rich conversations, and will inform the work generated in the free-write and workshopping parts of the session. Among our concerns are the following: how is a painting a poem? How do the rules of poetry encourage us to read and write fiction differently? Do they? Are we capable of forming thoughts according to rhyme and meter, or to other conceits in poetry? We will engage with and debate the varying schools of thought on poetry that place different emphasis on the use of image versus on the task of creating meaning through language. Looking at examples of how distinct elements are arranged to form a poem, participants will then collage idea, language, and image to create a new and original piece of work.

About Ankita:

Ankita Sadarjoshi is a writer of poems and lyrical prose, currently pursuing her MFA in Creative Writing at Columbia College Chicago. With a background in dramatic arts, her central focuses include experimenting with the formal constraints of poetry, blending theatre and language, and writing ekphrastically. She writes about beauty, damage, domestic rot, psychological unravel, desire, and place. Her chapbook pink mortem was published by Bottlecap Press in December 2022, and her poem “sugarburn” is the 2023 recipient of the Academy of American Poets Eileen Lannan Poetry Prize.