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January 2011

January 31, 2011

Tara Jepson & Danielle Rose at Symposia Bookstore in Hoboken, Sunday, 2/6/11, 3PM

Symposia Bookstore

510 Washinton St.

Hoboken, NJ

3PM

Tara Jepson & Danielle Rose

Free & Open to the Public

$3 Suggested Donation

Posted at 05:03 AM in Poetry Readings | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Writing Your Way Home Poetry Weekend Intensive, June 3-5, 2011, With Poets Laura Boss & Maria Mazziotti Gillan

WRITING YOUR WAY HOME,

A POETRY WEEKEND INTENSIVE

AT Glastonbury Abbey

16 Hull Street

Hingham, MA 02043

www.glastonburyabbey.org

With poets LAURA BOSS

And

MARIA MAZZIOTTI GILLAN

Friday, Saturday, and Sunday

June 3, 4, and 5, 2011

The purpose of this retreat is to give writers the space and time to focus totally on their own work in a serene and beautiful setting away from the pressures and distractions of daily life.

Writing weekend poets will find:

* Support and encouragement * stimulating activities leading to the creation of new work *

* workshop leaders who are actively engaged in the writing life * opportunities to read their work aloud to the group * a circle of writer friends * networking opportunities.

(This writing intensive is open to all writers over the age of 18.)

FIFTEEN PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT CREDITS GRANTED.

POETRY INTENSIVE SCHEDULE

Participants arrive before dinner on Friday evening. Dinner will be served at 6:00 pm. Participants should arrive prior to 6 pm to give themselves a chance to settle into their rooms and begin to retreat from the distractions of the world. After dinner, participants will break into two groups and the poetry faculty will lead them in creating new work. After the workshop, each participant will have the opportunity to read one poem. After Saturday breakfast, participants will again break into two groups for morning workshops. Some free time will be scheduled for socializing in the morning. In the afternoon, writing workshops will take place, followed by free time or each participant will have a chance to sign up in advance with the lead Poet faculty for one-on-one help with revision. After dinner on Saturday evening, faculty will lead another writing workshop and later participants will be invited to read their poems to the group. On Sunday after breakfast additional writing workshops will take place. A final reading by participants will serve as the “closing ceremony” to this inspiring and, we hope, productive weekend. Lunch will provide a final opportunity for socializing.

There are wonderful small shops and beach walks in the area. You might want to plan to visit some of these places. Perhaps you could plan to arrive early on Friday or to leave a bit later on Sunday.

We envision this weekend as a retreat from the noise and bustle of daily life. We see this retreat as a spiritual and creative break from our usual lives; it will allow us to take some time to look at life in a new light, to listen for our own voices, and to create in stillness, in quiet, and in community. These are times of contemplation and welcoming the muse. We want this experience to be unique and totally different from any other experience in the participants’ lives.

The workshops will concentrate on writing our way home and the way writing can save us, save our stories and our lives. We will work with drafting poems within the workshop. Participants should bring papers, pens, and the willingness to take risks. Please also bring previously-written work for one on one sessions and for readings.

Fee Schedule

Total $375...

Deposit—2/20/2011-$125.

Second pay—April 1, 2011-------$100.

Balance—May 1, 2011--------$150

Total------------------------------$375…;

*Total fee includes room, all meals, and all workshops.

*Early Bird Discount: Deduct $25 if paid in full by April 15, 2011

*Full refund will be given prior to May 1, 2011

*Late registration will be accepted on a first come, first served basis. Enrollment is limited.

We already have a list of people signed up for this workshop, so if you are interested, please sign up early.

Mail check payable to Maria Mazziotti Gillan - 40 Post Ave., Hawthorne, NJ 07506

Other questions? Call (973) 684-6555 or (973) 423-2921 or email:

[email protected] or [email protected]

Please let us know as early as possible if you plan to attend.

Posted at 04:56 AM in Workshops | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Last Time by Laura Boss

LAST TIME

for Michael Benedikt

Walking down the long hallway

of my now dead lover's apartment

as I have for twenty-three years

I realize this is the last time

I will probably ever be here again
I want to memorize all that I have lived

with for so many years but somehow

things blur like a Matisse tapestry of

patterns and layers

And I walk past the mug filled with yellow pencils

that have been resharpened and resharpened

past the empty box a VCR or an electric fan came in--

past the Paris Review posters

and the poster of Jane Fonda from her sex symbol stage

past the painted book case with glass doors

past the files filled with French translations

past the portable oxygen tank

And I smell the mixture of cigarette smoke, your sweat

on your ancient Harris tweed jacket hanging on a hook

I try to pack all the years I took for granted in my mind

knowing there's nothing more to do for you

knowing there's nothing more to say

--Laura Boss,

from Flashlight ( Guernica, 2010)

Posted at 04:49 AM in poems | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

January 27, 2011

Laura Boss

Photograph of Laura Boss

Photo by Michael Benedikt

Laura Boss, founder and editor of Lips, has received many awards for her poetry including a first place in Poetry Society of America’s Gordon Barber Poetry Contest and three Poetry Fellowships from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. In 1998, her manuscript was one of ten finalists in the country in PSA’s Alice Faye Di Castagnola Award. Her six books of poetry include Reports from the Front ( CCC) and Arms: New and Selected Poems (Guernica). She was the sole representative of the USA at the XXVI International Poetry Readings in Europe. Her recent featured readings include The Dylan Thomas Centre in Wales and the 2010 Geraldine R. Dodge Poetry Festival. She is a Geraldine R. Dodge Poet and a leader in their Clearing the Spring Program.

Laura is a Woodbridge native who graduated from Woodbridge High School. She "practically lived in the Barron Arts Center," when it was the Woodbridge Library. Her poems have appeared in The New York Times. Her newest book of poetry is Flashlight (Guenica).

Posted at 05:34 AM in Poets' Biographies | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)