Write Living Newspapers: A Poetry Workshop Led by Marjory Wentworth

Laurence Ferlinghetti wrote, “If you would be a poet, write living newspapers.” In this workshop we will consider the ways the occasion poem is often written to document or provide commentary on an event. Sometimes it is intended to be read or performed publicly, but not necessarily. There are no specific guidelines for occasion poems, except that they mark a specific occasion or situation. The poems can be long or short, serious or humorous, formal or experimental. We will look at several occasion poems together and consider ways we too can “write living newspapers.”

This is an in-person writers workshop, held at the Pat Conroy Literary Center (601 Bladen St.). Limited to 12 participants with advance registration required; $45/person.

Register: https://writelivingnewspapers.eventbrite.com

About Our Instructor:

Marjory Wentworth is the New York Times bestselling co-author of Out of Wonder: Poems Celebrating Poets, and the author of the prizewinning children’s story Shackles. Celebrated for her significant contributions to literature and social justice, she served as the poet laureate of South Carolina from 2003–2020. During her tenure as poet laureate, she published 4 collections of poems and received seven Pushcart Prize nominations. She is also the co-writer with Juan Mendez of Taking a Stand: The Evolution of Human Rights and We Are Charleston: Tragedy and Triumph at Mother Emanuel, with Herb Frazier and Dr. Bernard Powers, and co-editor with Kwame Dawes of Seeking: Poetry and Prose inspired by the Art of Jonathan Green. After receiving a Bachelor of Arts from Mount Holyoke College and a Master of Art in Writing from New York University, she moved to South Carolina in 1989, where she taught courses in writing, social justice, and banned books at The College of Charleston. For further information about the author visit her website, marjorywentworth.com.