Week Six

FINAL POETRY CLUB <l=‘^0

Group Activity 1: Reading/Writing Circles (exercise from CA Conrad)

First, we will divide the group in half-- half of us will begin as writers and the other half as readers. The writers form a circle, with their notebooks ready, while the readers form another circle around them, with their texts ready. (The readers can use any piece of text available.) The readers will walk around the inner circle alternating between speaking, singing and whispering their text. Meanwhile, the writers in the inner circle are writing freely, without stopping. There is no right way to do this— the exercise is meant to create a textural experience of language while providing the writer with a wash of disparate words and meaning. 

Group Activity 2:

I have printed out some poems that I felt were emotionally relevant to this moment. One person will read one poem out loud. After the poem has been read aloud, everyone will be invited to speak aloud a word, phrase, or line that resonated. 


Fred Moten

Hoa Nguyen 

Alice Notley

Prompt 1:

Now look over the poems on your own, and on a separate sheet of paper, make a list of those words and phrases that resonated. Try to find at least 20 words/phrases. 

Pass your list to the person on your right ——>

Prompt 2:

Think about the meaning of weather. How can the idea of weather function in a poem to express emotion? Consider the temperature of a poem, what creates a sense of temperature? Think about wind, and what it symbolizes. A higher power, a violent message, breath…? Using the list of words from your neighbor, try writing a poem that somehow contains weather.