Writing Like an Animal: A Persona Poem Workshop with Gretchen Primack (via Zoom)

Whenever we put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) to write a poem, we can’t help but have our own thoughts and opinions involved. Let’s face it: that can sometimes get pretty navel-gazy, or push us into ruts. But we can find fresh work and perspective when we jump into someone else’s skin, get outside of ourselves, by making persona poems—poems in the voice of another. Writing from another perspective, including animals’ perspectives, can bridge so many divides and open ourselves up in such profound ways. This workshop will share the ins and outs of writing someone else, focusing on writing other species. We’ll read, pre-write, write, revise/craft, discuss, and have a wonderful, enriching session together.

NB: This class will be taught on Zoom (Saturday, September 21, 12:30-2:30 PM ET) and will be capped at 15 students. Registrants will receive the Zoom link to the email address they use to register. It will arrive immediately after registration so please check your spam folder if you do not receive it. It will also be sent the day before class as a reminder. Please review the course policies page before registering for any classes. Please email misty@writerscenter.org with any questions.

All HVWC scholarship applications will be available on May 1 and will be due on May 15 for all summer/fall 2024 classes.

Gretchen Primack is the author of Kind, republished by Lantern Books in 2021; Visiting Days (Willow Books Editors Select Series, 2019); and Doris’ Red Spaces (Mayapple Press, 2014). She also co-wrote, with Jenny Brown, the memoir The Lucky Oness (Penguin Avery, 2012). Her poems have appeared in The Paris Review, Prairie Schooner, FIELD, Ploughshares, Poet Lore, Massachusetts Review, and other journals and anthologies. Primack has administrated and taught with college programs and poetry workshops in maximum-security prison for many years, and she is a proud indie bookseller at The Golden Notebook Bookstore in Woodstock, NY.