Writing What Can’t Be Said: Poetry Workshop and Discussion with Eve Grubin (via Zoom)

Jean Valentine said, “I’m interested in what can’t be said, in what literally can’t be said…if I could I’d write in silence.” Louise Glück wrote, “I am attracted to ellipsis, to the unsaid, to suggestion, to eloquent, deliberate silence. The unsaid, for me, exerts great power: often I wish an entire poem could be made in this vocabulary.” And Keats wrote, “Heard melodies are sweet but those unheard / Are sweeter.” Why are poets so interested in silence? How does one say what can’t be said? How does one not say what can’t be said but still communicate through silence. In this course, we’ll discuss these questions and analyze the poetics of silence. Participants will have the opportunity to share their work with the group and receive feedback. Participants will also be given prompts and will be able to generate new work.

NB: This class will be taught on Zoom (Sunday, June 30, 12:30-4:40 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.

Eve Grubin is the author of Morning Prayer (Sheep Meadow Press), The House of Our First Loving (Rack Press) and Grief Dialogue (Rack Press). Her next book of poems Boat of Letters will be published by Four Way Books in 2025. She is a lecturer at NYU in London and a tutor at the Poetry School.