RCAH-Verse: Two-in-One Poetry Workshop with RCAH Alumni Poets Jenny Crakes and Lia Greenwell

Thu, March 18, 2021 11:45 AM - Thu, March 18, 2021 1:00 PM at Virtual

Join us via Zoom as RCAH alumna poets Jenny Crakes and Lia Greenwell offer two poetry workshops in one afternoon.

Free and Open to the Public; Click here to register.

Poetry and Dramatic Conflict with Jenny Crakes

Explore the heart of what makes a dramatic scene: two characters in conflict. Translate the dramatic moment into poetry by filling in sensory images and shades of emotion. In this workshop, you'll create the draft of a dramatic moment that can stand on its own as a poem or spark a piece of theatre.

Mix/Remix: Collage in Poetry with Lia Greenwell

Explore juxtaposition in poetry by generating images, stealing quotes, mining facts, and see what unexpected resonances emerge upon mixing and remixing your lines. Have a pair of scissors handy (tape is optional) so we can feel the physicality of the old school "cut" and "paste" while trying out bold arrangements. You'll leave this workshop with a draft to build upon but also an expanded idea of what can belong in a poem.

Bio: Jenny Crakes

Jenny Crakes (RCAH ‘16) is a writer, RCAH alum and current 3rd-5th grade teacher on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota. The places where she has lived and visited, including roots in British Columbia and Michigan, inspire her poems, and she loves creating theatre that opens audiences to new possibilities. While at RCAH she was an intern and education coordinator at the Center for Poetry, and has since worked for City Year New York, Teach for America, and interned at the Cherry Lane Theatre.

Bio: Lia Greenwell

Lia Greenwell (RCAH ‘10) is an essayist and poet currently at work on a book of nonfiction examining themes of fear, safety, addiction, compassion, and punishment in the aftermath of a carjacking. Her work has appeared in the Kenyon Review Online, Missouri Review, and the Southern HumanitiesReview, among other publications. She holds an MFA from Warren Wilson College and has received scholarships from the Rona Jaffe Foundation and the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference. Lia has taught creative writing to high school and college students through the Girls Write Now program in New York City and as the Joan Beebe Graduate Teaching Fellow at Warren Wilson College. Raised in rural Michigan, she now lives in Metro Detroit.