Dismantling and Building the Page: Visual Poetry

In this workshop, we will examine the ways in which visual poetry can subvert the Western poetic page and norm of the English language. By reading and discussing works from visual poets of color such as Douglas Kearney, George Abraham, Tarik Dobbs, and Diana Khoi Nguyen, workshop participants will learn ways in which visual aspects of poetry such as text modification and creation of shapes with text can further convey themes within a poem or stand in contradiction with the text. Recognizing poetry’s long oral tradition, workshop participants will also listen to the above poets’ audio recordings (where available) of their poetry and learn how visual poetry and the vocal performance of poetry work together to create added layers of meaning.  Workshop Description:

In addition to reading and listening from these poets, the workshop will include time for generative writing: one prompt will ask workshop participants to create a visual…