July Workshop: Leave Signs: Poetic Curation and Archive w/ Megan Heise
In her poem, “Living as a Lesbian Underground: A Futuristic Fantasy,” Cheryl Clarke writes, “Leave signs of struggle. / Leave signs of triumph. / And leave signs.” We will do exactly that in this workshop on the art of curation and ethical use of archival material, leaving our own signs -- our own marks -- by reworking existing materials with an eye for both the past (archive) and the future (curation).
My hope is that we will engage together with the polytemporality of creation -- of working with the past, in the present, and towards a future -- and consider how time works as an element in creation, remix, and curation. How do we wish to curate -- or not curate -- the signs we leave of ourselves,via our own creative endeavors? And what responsibilities do we have when we work with others’ materials, with their own signs of struggle and triumph and life? This workshop will feature play with multiple forms of material remix, such as erasure, blackout, and cut-ups, as well as thoughtful dialogue on our role as poetic curators, whether we are curating our own collections of work, or engaging with someone else’s materials.
Megan Heise is a pizza sun, cinnamon roll moon, and crying-in-the-ocean rising who lives, works, and creates in Western Pennsylvania, where she takes care of her growing collection of plants. She received an MFA in Creative Writing and Poetics from Naropa University, is the author of the chapbook Quasar #6, and volunteers as a communications consultant for Youth UnMuted, an organization elevating refugees’ and immigrants’ voices through storytelling workshops and digital magazines. Her current creative work plays with forms of remix, including blackout, found text, mash-ups, and erasure, though a good angsty second- or third-person poem is always up her sleeve, just waiting to emerge.
Logistics:
- Workshops consist of one video per week for each week in the month. Videos are 45-60 minutes long, and are shared on a private YouTube account.
- Class discussions are held via Slack.
- All readings, creative prompts, and shared artwork will be exchanged via a private Google Drive folder.
- All workshops are designed for you. Dedicate as much or as little time to the workshop per week as you'd like.
[Image credit: Gratisography]
