Fall Workshop Schedule: La Sopa NYC, Capicu Culture/Boricua College

Gente:

This Fall, I'll be at Boricua College teaching a workshop for La Sopa NYC, Capicu Culture's School of Poetic Arts, alongside Keith Roach (performance).

The workshops run from October 4th through November 8th.

$100 for one workshop or $150 for two. You can view course descriptions and sign up for a workshop by going to the link below:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/lasopanyc-the-capicu-school-of-poetic-arts-fall-2014-tickets-12757346567

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The Sacred Word: Poetry, Clarity, and Spellcasting in a World of Sound

with Rich Villar

La SoPA NYC cites certain progressive movements as the basis for its mission: namely, the Harlem Renaissance, the Beat Poets, the Black Arts Movement, and the Nuyorican Movement. In this workshop, we will look at the writers, poets, and literature of these historical moments, as well as their origins; where these movements intersect; and how they have played into the development of contemporary poetry. With this history as our framework, we will generate new poems with concrete intention and clarity, and look at our present poems in a historical context—both as writers and as citizens of an increasingly complex world.  We will explore how sound and lineation interact on the page and in your performances. We will look at ways to edit and prepare your work for presentation in multiple venues (theatrical, literary, and in between). We will discuss our identities as poets in the wider literary world, and what these identities imply. And we will discuss the "absurd" notion that we bees actual, real-life wizards—capable of poetry, spellcasting, destruction, and creation.

(The title of this workshop is taken from the poem "Ka'Ba," by Amiri Baraka.)

Where's My Dramaturgy?
with Keith Roach

Performance in many considerations, from how a poem is presented on the page to the act of reading, or reciting the poem to an audience. A look at the history of slam or performance poetry in NYC and the US of A with the aim of exposing students to the possibilities inherent in their own work and approach to presenting their work. The aim of the class is to have participants prepared to present their poetry in feature readings as well as and/or presentation on the page. Reading off the paper & Reading from memory. What is easy and not so easy regarding each format. The joys and perils of editing, both the writing and the reciting. Recording performances and critiquing them as a group activity. Finally, “where's my dramaturgy?” How to prepare for a feature reading/ performance.