R135. Is Poetry Ready for Prime Time?

Room 2B, Washington State Convention Center, Level 2
Thursday, February 27, 2014
10:30 am to 11:45 am

 

Recently poets have ventured into other media for the fun of collaborating and to reach out to a wider audience. Projects include combining animation with poetry, writing plays based on the lives of poets, and using poetry as lyrics for rock and jazz bands. Is poetry ready to dive out of its literary tower and swim in the world of mass audiences? Is it possible? What are the pleasures and pains of working with artists in other media? Do collaborations change the way we write or hear poetry?


Participants

Moderator:

Zack Rogow is the author, editor, or translator of nineteen books or plays. His seventh book of poems is My Mother and the Ceiling Dancers. Currently he teaches in the low-residency MFA in writing program at the University of Alaska Anchorage.

Cornelius Eady is the author of eight poetry collections including Victims of the Latest Dance Craze, winner of the 1985 Lamont Prize, and Brutal Imagination. He holds the Miller Chair at the University of Missouri and is co-founder of Cave Canem.

Kim Addonizio's most recent books are Lucifer at the Starlite and Ordinary Genius: A Guide for the Poet Within. The Palace of Illusions, a collection of stories, is forthcoming from Counterpoint/Soft Skull. She teaches writing workshops in Oakland, California and online.

Toby Barlow is a graduate of the Great Books Program at St. John's College. He has worked in advertising in San Francisco, New York City, and now in Detroit. In 2005, he created The Billy Collins Action Poetry series. He is also the author of the award winning free verse novel Sharp Teeth. His latest novel is Babayaga.

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