NOTE: This workshop is sold out. To join the waitlist, click here and fill out the form.
The Life of Poetry
A Poetry Workshop
with Frank X. Gaspar & Ellen Bass
April 17-21, 2023
Online via Zoom
“Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.”
—Anton Chekhov
If you want to write images like that “glint of light on broken glass”—precise, clear, and immediately arresting—please join Ellen Bass and Frank X. Gaspar at the online The Life of Poetry Workshop. We’ll craft poems that combine compelling detail with complex thought to create work that is more powerful, authentic, courageous and memorable than you’ve ever written before.
We will take risks, summoning the courage to go over, under or around the censors that silence us. We’ll approach our experience from new angles to find the poem within the story. We’ll question the stories we think are true and explore the power of not-knowing and discovery.
We will write poems, share our writing, and hear what our work touches in others. We’ll also read model poems by contemporary poets and discuss aspects of the craft. But mainly this will be a writing retreat—time to explore and create in a supportive community. Though the focus is on poetry, prose writers who want to enrich their language will find it a fertile environment.
The Structure of the Workshop
Although this workshop is appropriate for beginning poets, with much support and encouragement offered, it is also recommended for experienced poets, including those who have published books or chapbooks, are teaching poetry, or have simply been working at the craft for a long time.
This workshop is oriented toward generating new work. We’ll start each day with a talk about some aspect of the craft of writing.
Then there will be time devoted to writing. Unlike workshops where there are multiple short writing prompts, we prefer to schedule longer writing sessions so that there’s time to go deeply into your writing. You may not be actually writing that entire time, but there’s space for writing, reflection, starting off on a whole new topic, maybe taking a short break to refresh yourself and begin again.
Then we’ll meet to share our work. For these sessions, we’ll divide into smaller groups, one led by each teacher (you’ll have the opportunity to work with both teachers in the small groups). Everyone will have a chance to read and to receive responses, encouragement, and support. Frank and Ellen will also provide guidance and suggestions for those who need or want that.
On the final night, there will be a poetry reading by each of the participants.
Logistics
Cost: $1750
Workshop Participant Number: Maximum of 28
Workshop Format: This workshop will be held online through Zoom. Handouts for the workshop will be sent by email in advance of the Zoom sessions. The workshop is not recorded, so participants are expected to attend all of the Zoom sessions.
Scholarships for Poets Who Are Black, Indigenous, and People of Color
We are offering two full scholarships for the workshop to poets who are Black, Indigenous, or People of Color. Unfortunately, we can’t offer every deserving applicant a scholarship, but if you’d like to apply, please send two poems in a Word document or the body of an email. Applications are judged blind, so please do not include your name in the document or in conjunction with your poems in the email. But please do give Jen your name, so she knows who you are. Send the poems to Jen at jen@ellenbass.com by March 22, 2023. With your submission, you must indicate which scholarship you are applying for. In this case, say that it is for “The Life of Poetry”. We have multiple scholarships running at once, so any submissions that do not indicate the scholarship applied for will not be considered.
If you have already attended an online workshop on scholarship within the last two years (this does not include the Living Room Craft Talks), you are not eligible to apply for this workshop.
Retreat Schedule
Monday, April 17, 2023
Introductory Session: 2 – 4 pm Pacific Time/5 – 7 pm Eastern Time
Tuesday, April 18, 2023
Craft Talk: 9 am – 10 am Pacific Time/ 12 – 1 pm Eastern Time
Feedback Session: 2 – 5 pm Pacific Time / 5 – 8 pm Eastern Time
Wednesday, April 19, 2023
Craft Talk: 9 am – 10 am Pacific Time/ 12 – 1 pm Eastern Time
Feedback Session: 2 – 5 pm Pacific Time / 5 – 8 pm Eastern Time
Thursday, April 20, 2023
Craft Talk: 9 – 10 am Pacific Time/ 12 – 1 pm Eastern Time
Feedback Session: 2 – 5 pm Pacific Time / 5 – 8 pm Eastern Time
Friday, April 21, 2023 – Please Note the Time Shifts This Day
Craft Talk: 8 – 9 am Pacific Time/ 11 am – 12 pm Eastern Time
Feedback Session: 1 – 4 pm Pacific Time / 4 – 7 pm Eastern Time
Participant Poetry Reading: 5:30 – 6:30 pm Pacific Time / 8:30 – 9:30 pm Eastern Time
This retreat is NOT recorded, so participants should plan to attend all of the sessions.
TO REGISTER
Registration is a 2-part process. Part one is making your payment and part two is filling out a short form. Registration is not complete until both parts are completed, though completing your payment does secure your spot in the workshop.
Payment:
Full payment of the $1750 fee is due with registration. You have the option to pay by credit card or PayPal.
Cancellations and Refunds:
If you find that you cannot attend the workshop, let Jen know as soon as possible and she’ll try to fill your space. If she can fill your space, she’ll refund your payment, minus a $350 administrative fee which is non-refundable. The sooner you let us know, the more likely that we can fill your space.
Questions and Concerns:
If you have any questions or concerns, please email Jen at jen@ellenbass.com.
NOTE: This workshop is sold out. To join the waitlist, click here and fill out the form.
FRANK X. GASPAR was born and raised in Provincetown, Massachusetts, of Azorean Descent (Pico, Sao Miguel). His ancestors were traditionally whalers and Grand Banks fisherman, sailing out of the Islands and then Provincetown. He is the author of five collections of poetry and two novels. Among his many awards are multiple inclusions in Best American Poetry, four Pushcart Prizes, a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in Literature, and a California Arts Council Fellowship in poetry. His debut novel, Leaving Pico, was a Barnes and Noble Discovery Prize winner, a recipient of the California Book Award for First Fiction, and a New York Times Notable Book. His second novel, Stealing Fatima, was a MassBook of the Year in Fiction (Massachusetts Foundation for the Book). His latest book, a fusion of genres, is The Poems of Renata Ferreira.
ELLEN BASS’s most recent collection, Indigo, was published by Copper Canyon Press in 2020. Her other poetry books include Like a Beggar, The Human Line, and Mules of Love. Her poems appear frequently in The New Yorker, American Poetry Review, and many other journals. Among her awards are Fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, The NEA, and The California Arts Council, The Lambda Literary Award, and four Pushcart Prizes. She co-edited the first major anthology of women’s poetry, No More Masks!, and her nonfiction books include the groundbreaking The Courage to Heal: A Guide for Women Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse and Free Your Mind: The Book for Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Youth. A Chancellor Emerita of the Academy of American Poets, Bass founded poetry workshops at Salinas Valley State Prison and the Santa Cruz, California jails, and teaches in the MFA writing program at Pacific University.