FIRST WEEK: NICANOR PARRA & IDENTITY

We'll be writing poems that explore and interrogate this notion of "individual identity"--our own and/or some aspect of identity, generally--inspired by and in response to Nicanor Parra's "The Individual's Soliloquy" (original in Spanish here) and "Something Like That" (Spanish original on same page, beneath translation).

Two brief essays on Parra may help put his work into a broader context: see this and this.

Relative to this, Nada Gordon and I have posted about half of our talk on "the Autré," which includes examples from all over the world of artists of various kinds playing with "identity" in various ways, here, here, and here.

For those wanting a more traditional (not to mention Eurocentric) sense of the history of satire, see this essay and what Wikipedia has to say.

WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION

Satire As Cultural Engagement
Fridays, 7:00-9:00 p.m.: 10 sessions beginning October 13
The Poetry Project at St. Mark's Church, 2nd Ave & 10th Street, New York City

Satire insists on a level of cultural engagement not always required by other approaches to creative expression. We will read, listen to, and watch satirical work from around the world and across millennia—from ancient Greece to contemporary Afghanistan and Zimbabwe, with many points in between. Global examples will be our temporary touchstones as we hone our own cultural engagement in our poetry. Participants don’t need to be funny, just observant.

Gary Sullivan is the author of How to Proceed in the Arts, Swoon (with Nada Gordon), and two issues of the comic book series, Elsewhere.

The workshop fee is $350, which includes a one-year sustaining Poetry Project membership ($125 – see back page for more info) and tuition for any and all fall and spring classes. Reservations are required due to limited class space, and payment must be received in advance. Caps on class sizes are determined, if in effect, will be determined by workshop leaders. Please send payment and reservations to: The Poetry Project, St. Mark’s Church, 131 E. 10th St., NY, NY 10003. For more information, or to pay by credit card, please call (212)674-09010 or e-mail info@poetryproject.com.