Wednesday, January 17th, 2024, 5:00PM - 7:00PM

Meeting will take place in the Poetry Center's Alumni Room, Room 205; limit 12 students. SOLD OUT.

On earth, we grieve. Elephants bury their dead and return years later to touch the bones. Dolphins carry the bodies of their offspring for miles in the open ocean. Human beings weep and gather together and remember-- and, sometimes, alone, we write. Among the most ancient forms we have is the elegy: a container for our loss. But what makes an elegy good? How do we give grief shape, make it mean something to someone else? And what does the impulse to share that grieving have to do with its twin: the equally-essential impulse to praise? In this generative workshop, we'll explore the elegy and the ode as vehicles for deep feeling and see if we can discover what possibilities are unlocked by combining the two. Readings will include Akhmatova, Espada, Aber, Heaney, Horace, Gay, Pastan, Merwin, Clifton, and Neruda. Participants should expect to leave the workshop with two new poem drafts and some fresh ideas about where to go next.