In this workshop, writers will plan ahead for the days when we know we need to grow new work but our creative soil is bone-dry or chock full of rocks. Bring a handful of favorite poems or the titles & memories of beloved prose pieces to use as fertilizer. We’ll use the materials we always have on hand to consider what a new literary creation needs in order to break open and throw roots. Plan to leave with a small collection of your own prompts to plant during any upcoming winters of the mind.
Abby E. Murray (they/them) is the editor of Collateral, a literary journal concerned with the impact of violent conflict and military service beyond the combat zone. As a nonbinary pacifist married to a cis-gender active duty army officer, they’ve spent their adult life writing and researching conflict, contradiction, and the necessity of voice. Their first book, Hail and Farewell, won the Perugia Press Poetry Prize and was a finalist for the Washington State Book Award, and their second book, Recovery Commands, won the Richard-Gabriel Rummonds Prize from Ex Ophidia Press and has been nominated for the National Book Award. Abby served as the 2019-2021 poet laureate for the city of Tacoma, Washington, and currently teaches writing to Army War College fellows at the University of Washington.
Recommended $20 donation. Donation is split between the instructor and the organization to compensate for time, space, and facilitation. This fee is optional. Pay what you can, no one will be turned away.
Light refreshments provided.
This program is supported in part by Tacoma Creates, a program of the City of Tacoma.