Here’s something you should contemplate doing, if you’re a New Yorker:

THE POETRY OF WITNESS: A WORKSHOP

“All of writing is a huge lake….All that matters is feeding the lake. I don’t matter. The lake matters. You must keep feeding the lake.”—Jean Rhys

This 10-week workshop will focus on “feeding the lake” of awareness, empathy, insight, and resistance by exploring the poetry of witness and bearing witness ourselves, in written form, to the times in which we live. By reading the work of other poets, past and present, we will delve into a wide variety of approaches to speaking out as witnesses to the injustices of our time. We will also discuss (and discover how to avoid) some of the creative pitfalls of “political poetry”. Throughout, our approach will be to find incisive and original ways to speak about this moment in human reality. The workshop will combine
in-class and take-home activities, culminating in an activist event to be determined by the workshop participants. Beginners, experienced writers, and other artists are welcome to attend.

LOCATION: Park Slope, Brooklyn [near the Atlantic/Pacific station]

TIME: Wednesday evenings, 7–8:30 p.m. The workshop starts at 7 sharp.

DATES: 10 weeks, beginning Wednesday, September 15—Wednesday, November 24, 2002. No class on Wednesday, October 13th.

COST: $250, payable upon enrollment. Participants accepted on a first-come, first-serve basis.

ENROLLMENT DEADLINE: August 31, 2004.

ALLERGY ALERT: A dog & 2 cats share the home where the workshop will be held.

To register or for more information, contact Gerry Gomez Pearlberg at
dogstargrl@aol.com

INSTRUCTOR’S BIO
Gerry Gomez Pearlberg’s latest book of poems, Mr. Bluebird (Painted Leaf Press, 2001) won the Audre Lorde Award for Lesbian Poetry from the Publishing Triangle in 2002. In 2003, Mr. Bluebird was reprinted by University of Wisconsin Press. Marianne Faithfull’s Cigarette, Pearlberg’s first poetry collection, received a Lambda Literary Award. Pearlberg has taught at the Writer’s Voice, the Center for Book Arts, the LGBT Community Services Center, and AIDS Service Center NYC, among other places.

Above and beyond this, I want to say that Gerry is a remarkable writer, and a sharp ans sensitive teacher. I’m thinking about takin the workshop myself.