As poet Mark Van Doren once said: “The art of teaching is the art of assisting discovery.” This immersive workshop is designed to generate new writing through discovering and nurturing our poetic voices. Using in-class prompts, we will explore how voice emerges and creates the distinctive character that makes our writing unique. Whatever form this new work takes, whether it’s a poem, a prose poem, a short essay or other form of creative non-fiction, these exercises will stimulate the writer’s imagination and inspire further exploration. A particular focus for this session will be ekphrastic writing, which is writing that describes vividly and is in response to a work of art. Participants will be asked to bring in either a photograph or an image of an artwork that has sparked their interest. This session should be fruitful for those new to writing creatively as well as seasoned writers. We’ll draw upon the wonderful resource of a constructive small group to learn how others hear us and how we can best hear ourselves.

Seating is limited and registration is required at cornwalllibrary.org.