Plague, Pestilence, Pandemic: Writing Poems in a Time of Affliction

$49.00

Dates: Any
Format: Independent Study (more info)

Throughout history, poets have responded to whatever social, political, or cultural issues they faced in their times. In this two-module generative workshop, we’ll look at specific examples of how poets from the sixteenth through the twenty-first centuries have written about health crises such as bubonic plague, Spanish flu, AIDS, and Covid-19.

In the first lesson, you will read selected poems that illustrate varied approaches to writing about illness, medicine, and healing, focusing on specific forms, techniques, and strategies. Then, in the second, you will draw on these models—including persona poems, odes, and elegies—and follow prompts to write your own.

Shortly after you Add to Cart, you will receive an email containing an invitation to create an account and begin learning. Note: This class does not include feedback or interaction with the instructor or other learners, and is accessible for thirty days. If more time is needed, just contact us.

Dates: Any
Format: Independent Study (more info)

Throughout history, poets have responded to whatever social, political, or cultural issues they faced in their times. In this two-module generative workshop, we’ll look at specific examples of how poets from the sixteenth through the twenty-first centuries have written about health crises such as bubonic plague, Spanish flu, AIDS, and Covid-19.

In the first lesson, you will read selected poems that illustrate varied approaches to writing about illness, medicine, and healing, focusing on specific forms, techniques, and strategies. Then, in the second, you will draw on these models—including persona poems, odes, and elegies—and follow prompts to write your own.

Shortly after you Add to Cart, you will receive an email containing an invitation to create an account and begin learning. Note: This class does not include feedback or interaction with the instructor or other learners, and is accessible for thirty days. If more time is needed, just contact us.

 

Teaching Artist

 
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Jo Pitkin

Jo Pitkin is a native of the Hudson Valley. She earned a BA in Creative Writing and Literature from Kirkland College—one of the first undergraduate creative writing degrees in the United States—and an MFA in Poetry from the Writers’ Workshop at the University of Iowa. She is the author of a chapbook, The Measure (Finishing Line Press, 2007), and four full-length books—Cradle of the American Circus: Poems from Somers, New York (The History Press, 2012); Commonplace Invasions (Salmon Poetry, 2014); Rendering (Salmon Poetry, 2017); and Village: Recession (Salmon Poetry, 2020). She is also the editor of the anthology Lost Orchard: Prose and Poetry from the Kirkland College Community (SUNY Press, 2014).