Reading
Martha King & Margaret Randall
In this workshop, we will examine the work of five poets working under the wide umbrella of Documentary Poetry. We’ll discuss their various approaches as they engage documents of governmental language, legalese, and/or personal ephemera such as family photographs, interviews and correspondence. Our goal is to peel back the clinical posturing of public language and drill down to the emotional impact; the weighty bearing on physical or mental freedom. This workshop will be driven, primarily, by conversation around these texts. Participants are asked to identify one document ahead of time that they’d like to personally engage/respond to, through poetry. This may include governmental or court documents, policy, a published article, a scientific text, a literary piece, family photographs, interviews, films, etcetera (Note: Interviews or films will require transcription before workshop).
