Reading
It's possible that nothing is ever empty, not even emptiness, not even the void. It's possible that nothing is ever gone, no person or history ever leaves, traces on the land and in memory, all present ever-present, all absence a mistake of perception. When we think of this great fullness --- an abundant void, a terrain so densely marked by the particularities of stories, lives, and possibilities that constitute it --- time and distance no longer seem to adequately measure as perhaps we had previously imagined. It is a type of fullness, vastness, that cannot be contained, that spreads in every direction, that is part of everything.
This spring in The Poetry Project's Dis/Course series, we explore these and other questions of void and terrain, rooting for the holes, feeling for the openings. We begin with a meeting facilitated by Kay Gabriel on challenges to typical notions of distance, presence, and absence inherent in the form of the epistle. Then with Emmalea Russo we will turn to the stars to reflect on cosmic conversation as the stars reflect back on us. And finally with Marcella Durand we will consider the possibility of a more revolutionary mapping against knowledge as conquest towards a deeper understanding of our connections between our creative centers and the environment that cradles us.
Each meeting is free and open. Participants are invited to RSVP in advance to receive a packet of readings and other material to begin the conversation. Reading in advance, however, is not be required, nor is any particular education background or expertise. Come, talk about poetry and possibility, teach, learn, share, and connect more deeply with The Poetry Project community.
PERMISSIVE DISTANCE: ON THE EPISTOLARY POEM with Kay Gabriel
Thursday, February 20, 7-9 pm
"To hear all the sky and the map": Lines of Mapping with Marcella Durand
Thursday, April 30, 7-9 pm
STARS <------> ART: ASTRO-TRIPPING INTO POETRY or SEDUCING THE STARS: THE POETRY OF ASTROLOGY with Emmalea Russo
Thursday, May 21, 7-9 pm