Friday, September 27, 2019
10:30am – 7pm | Registration Table Open
Warehouse
11:00am – 2:00pm | Master Class with Claudia Castro Luna
Boxx Gallery
Poetry and Play
Making art requires open channels. It requires an open self, unencumbered, open to possibilities. Children know this very well. In their unawareness they are all artists. My own children produce an astounding amount of art. Some of it is very good. Some of it is not so good. But some of it is pure genius; it is distillation of spirit. This artistic output happens in a play space. Not play in the sense of competition, strategy and rules– not patriarchal play. Play in the sense of stepping into it with wonder and love. With marginal specifications and basic supplies, above all with mental freedom. To write well, to tap into the deepest well, a playful attitude is essential. Free of worries, of rules, of expectations a true exploration is possible. In that space we delight in ambiguity and surprise. The term for the opposite is constipation. Freud interpreted excrement dreams as having to do with creativity.
2:30pm – 5:45pm | Master Class with Natalie Diaz
(Natalie Diaz’s Master Class is wait-listed; please email emily@litfuse.us to be added to the list.)
Boxx Gallery
We are Where We Write
A generative workshop making inquiries into place. This workshop will read a few poems together from a group packet that you will take home with you. We will also engage in scaffolded exercises that will arrive us at a leaping point for making a poem or some type of language thinking toward place. Please bring writing implement and paper.
5:30pm – 7pm | Dinner (for purchase)
Warehouse
6:40pm-7pm | Faculty Reading/Performance w/ Thom Caraway
7pm-7:20pm | Faculty Reading/Performance w/ Ebo Barton
Mighty Tieton Warehouse Stage
7:20pm – 7:30pm | LiTFUSE Slam 4 Page Poets Sign-Ups
7:30-9:30 | LiTFUSE Slam 4 Page Poets, hosted by Ebo Barton
Mighty Tieton Warehouse Stage
Open to the Public & Free
For poets wanting a different option, we’re providing a Master Class Friday evening.
6:30pm – 9:00pm | Master Class with Christopher Howell
Boxx Gallery
Writing the Persona Poem
What if you were suddenly Eleanor Roosevelt, or Blackbeard, Narcissa Whitman, a dwarf in the court of Louis the XIV? How would you sound? What would you find yourself surprised to know? Fiction writers do this all the time. I think of Valerie Martin, while journaling on a train between New Orleans and Boston, suddenly discovering the character of Mary Reilly, the eponymous main character of her novel by that title, whom she styled as Dr. Jekyll’s house maid.
But her experience is not unique. Anyone who has imagined herself into the sensibility of another being, from another time and place, has had something like the same surprise. This transference is something poets do to some degree often, but unconsciously. What if you consciously slip out of your skin or your temporal box and write as if you were someone, some thing, other than what (or where or when) you are?
Then you will find yourself writing a persona poem, or poems—they tend to come in bunches. We will do some of this in class, but I will also ask everyone to write a poem or two from the point of view of a sensibility of their own invention—even if you choose a historical figure, the voice and what it knows and chooses to reveal will still be your invention. There are plenty of examples of this kind of poem, as most of you no doubt know. Some would even claim that sort of invention is all we are really doing in most of our poems anyway. But I disagree, and I hope that by the time the class is over, you will disagree as well. For some background reading you might look at David Dwyer’s Ariana Olisvos: Her Last Works and Days, D. Nurkse’s Love in the Last Days, Margaret Atwood’s The Journals of Suzanna Moody, and/or Roger Weingarten’s Ethan Benjamin Bolt; or give yourself once again the pleasure of reading Tennyson’s “Ulysses.” Please send the poems, at least a week before our class date, to cnhowell@ewu.edu.
Saturday, September 28, 2019
8am – 10am | Breakfast for purchase
617 on Tieton Square
8am – 10am | Registration Table Open
Mighty Tieton Warehouse Atrium
8:10am – 8:20am | Ingathering w/ Carol Trenga
Tieton Square Park (weather permitting)
8:30am – 10am | First Breakout Session
Warehouse Ring Room
Writing Outside the Map with Laura Da’
This generative writing course uses the conceit of the map as a central metaphor for crafting new work and evoking place. The creation, crossing, and elimination of boundaries of language, place, and narrative will underpin writing prompts and extension activities designed to encourage new work and invigorate the revision process.
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The Barn Room
Odes to Oddities with Matthew Nienow
Neruda was one of the greats when it came to his Odas Elementales or Odes to Common Things. His masterful attempts to name simple things resulted in some of the wildest metaphors in contemporary poetry. We’ll explore some of his hits among the work of other poets to consider the power of praising the odd objects that arrive in our lives. This class will include both close readings or relevant poems and generative prompts.
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Paper Hammer
Ten Tall Women—A Focus on Courage with Dan Peters
Now when I think of that/skinny, long-legged, brown-eyed girl,/of the happy life she led there,/the irreplaceable years of hopscotch,/Sunday night waffles, new skates for Christmas,/my heart stakes its claim. I shall mine/that streambed as long as I live. –from Tall Woman Looking by Dorothy Trogdon.
We didn’t set out to do this, but over the last ten years, Blue Begonia Press has published ten books by ten extraordinary women, each with important stories to tell. In this generative workshop, we will use model poems by Elizabeth Austen, Elissa Ball, Joan Fiset, Kathleen Hunt, Kim-An Lieberman, Terry Martin, Brooke Matson, Nancy Rawles, Nancy Takacs, and Dorothy Trogdon as ways into our own poetry. We’ll stand on the shoulders of these courageous poems to see a little further than we did before.
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Boxx Gallery
From Image to Word with Cynthia Neely
According to the Poetry Foundation, “An ekphrastic poem is a vivid description of a scene or, more commonly, a work of art. Through the imaginative act of narrating and reflecting on the “action” of a painting or sculpture, the poet may amplify and expand its meaning.”
Roman poet Horace, in his Ars Poetica (c. 13 BC) wrote “ut pictura poesis”–“as is painting, so is poetry.” Poets and visual artists frequently turn to one another for inspiration.
Modern ekphrastic poetry most often approaches an artwork to inform or inspire poetry that interprets, inhabits, confronts, or speaks to that work. Poets can approach a piece of artwork not only by writing about the scene being depicted in the work, but instead by writing in the voice of the subject depicted in the work, or speaking directly to the subject of the work, or even to the artist himself.
In this generative workshop, participants will be given many examples of ekphrastic writing and will then be given an opportunity to write to a specific artwork, either to a work displayed at the Boxx Gallery where the workshop will be held, or to any image they choose from those provided in the workshop or, if desired, to an image that the participant brings with them.
10:15am – 11:45am | Second Breakout Session
601 Studios
Move Writingly, Write Movingly with Susan Blair
Music inspires movement; movement inspires emotion; emotion inspires art. Experience the joy of movement and how it can inspire and inform your writing in this active, generative workshop. We will move/dance to a variety of music. At the end of each piece we will write about that experience: How did it feel to move slowly or quickly, with power or grace, in a staccato or lyrical manner? What ideas, images or memories arose? What words are evoked for you in this process? We will come away with new insights and the beginnings of new work. There will be discussion and optional sharing at the end.
Participants should wear loose clothing in which they can move comfortably. Athletic skill is not required; this may even be done from a chair. If you’d like a break from sitting, this session is for you.
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Boxx Gallery
Environment as Protagonist with Saretta Morgan
Not only does non-human life vastly outnumber us, but it’s typically a lot more interesting. Land formations and animal evolutions hold long histories and strategies for survival. In this class we’ll comb the phylums embedded in the environments that we live in as well as those we imagine in order to form deeper connections to place. The session will include generative exercises and group feedback.
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The Barn Room
Double, Double, Toil and Tieton: Spells & Incantations with Maya Jewell Zeller
A poem is a kind of spell, an incantation against apathy or agony, a call to wonder. In this place-based generative workshop, we’ll read and discuss various spell-castings, including “eco-spells” by Janie Elizabeth Miller, translations of Yi Lu’s Sea Poems, excerpts from Anne Carson’s Float, and more, and then we’ll fashion some of our own, using the hair or feathers of a Tieton animal*, a pinch of mica dust, and a sprinkle of something we bring to town. *No animals will be harmed in this workshop. All feathers and hairs must be imagined or found.
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Paper Hammer
Explore the art of taking the poetry from page to stage by writing and movement techniques. Watch, analyze and discuss spoken word poetry via the written word and video. Write and discuss poetry generated in this session with other writers. Get the opportunity to provide and receive feedback on your performance poem in a supportive environment.
11:45am – 12:45pm | Lunch, Stretch, Visit, Shop Local
11:45am – 7pm | LiTFUSE Bookstore Open
Warehouse
Faculty books, other books from Blue Begonia Press & Cave Moon Press, and other Mighty Tieton/Paper Hammer merchandise.
12:50pm – 1:10pm | Faculty Reading/Performance w/ Cynthia Neely
1:10pm – 1:30pm | Faculty Reading/Performance Christopher Howell
Boxx Gallery
1:45pm – 3:15pm | Third Breakout Session
Warehouse Ring Room
Neruda’s Ode: A Leap of Image with Natalie Diaz
This is a generative group exercise in which we will read a few of Neruda’s odes together and leap into writing our own odes.
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601 Studios
The Reincarnated Form: Experimenting with The Line with Finn Menzies
How does a poem find its form? Do we insist on its shape or does the poem reveal its shape to us? The line can break in countless ways and each variation brings a different incarnation of the poem. In this workshop we will read poems that use the structure of the line to breathe life into the content. After reading, we will take our own writing and expose the many ways our poem can live in the world. As we experiment where and how to break our lines we will consider these prophets of poetry: breath, sound, surprise, space, and speed.
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Boxx Gallery
What’s Old’s What’s New with Thom Caraway
What do we do when we’re stuck? When our own words do not seem like enough or won’t come? What do we do when the universe drops really great material right into our laps? Found poetry comprises a number of different techniques, from collage to whiteout to blackout to constructed. In this workshop, we’ll look at this developing genre of writing and explore a couple different ways to execute found projects. We’ll look at examples from the last several years, and materials will be provided for participants to put their ideas into practice.
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Paper Hammer
Where Prose Poems and Haibun Meet with Claudia Castro Luna
A generative workshop with a moment of literary comparison between the prose poem which first appeared on the world stage in France and haibun which was born in Japan.
3:30pm – 4:15pm | Extra Breakout: Follow Your Bliss
(No Registration Required)
The Barn Room
Take a Bullet Make a Song: Blue Begonia Press Contemplates Turning 40 with Dan Peters
In this discussion, Dan Peters, editor of Blue Begonia Press, will lead a conversation about its history and direction. Beginning during the 1979-80 school year, Blue Begonia Press has been a presence in Northwest poetry circles. In 2010, after three decades of publishing, long-time owners Karen and Jim Bodeen turned over the keys to Dan and Amy Peters. Over the next five years, the press produced ten books of poems, by ten incredible people, including two Washington State Book Award Finalists. Since then, the press has slowed way down. Find out what’s been happening at Blue Begonia Press—what lessons we’ve learned, what friendships we’ve made—and what’s going to happen in 2020 in this open and honest conversation with this long-standing press’s “new” editor.
3:30pm – 4:15pm | Yoga Stretch w/ Laura Woods
Tieton Square Park (weather permitting)
No experience or special clothing necessary – time to stretch out those bones with sun salutations and some mindfulness & meditation.
4:30pm – 4:50pm | Faculty Reading w/ Maya Jewell Zeller
4:50pm – 5:10pm | Faculty Reading w/ Saretta Morgan
5:10pm – 5:50pm | Plenary Session
Warehouse Atrium Stage
Killing Marías
Join Washington State Poet Laureate Claudia Castro Luna, along with poets Cindy Williams Gutiérrez, Joanna Thomas, and Elizabeth Austen, for a special presentation of Claudia Castro Luna’s epic poetry collection Killing Marías.
5:50pm – 6:30pm | Wine Down/Cash Bar
Take a few minutes to mingle and shop. All proceeds directly benefit Tieton Arts & Humanities.
Warehouse Atrium
6:30pm – 8:15pm | The LiTFUSE Poets’ Banquet
6:30pm – 7pm: Dinner is served
7pm – 7:20pm: Faculty Reading w/ Finn Menzies
7:20pm – 7:40pm: Faculty Reading w/ Claudia Castro Luna
7:40pm: Keynote w/ Natalie Diaz
Warehouse
8:15pm – 9:30pm | The LiTFUSE Poets’ After Party
617 on Tieton Square
Sunday, September 29, 2019
8am – 10am | Breakfast (for purchase)
617 on Tieton Square
8:30am – 8:50am | Faculty Reading w/ Matthew Nienow
8:50am – 9:10am | Faculty Reading/Performance w/ Laura Da’
9:10am – 9:45am | Faculty Reading + Q & A w/ Natalie Diaz
An informal coffeehouse atmosphere, come talk craft, publication, art & life with Natalie Diaz.
Warehouse
10am – 11:30am | Fourth Breakout Session
The Barn Room
Navigating Poetic Affinities with Laura Da’
What can we learn from our own poetic affinities and how can they be leveraged to create new writing? This course focuses on leveraging critical reading strategies to create a tailored set of personal writing prompts.
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601 Studios
Crossover Artists: Poets Writing Nonfiction with Maya Jewell Zeller
In this workshop, we’ll look at blurred genre and lyric nonfiction/fiction excerpts that act a lot like poems: essays formed from linked prose poems, numbered sequences and lists, and obsessive serial forms and structures that explore an “aboutness” more than they follow a traditional plot arc. We’ll read works by writers like Traci Brimhall, Eula Biss, Maggie Nelson, and Anne Carson, and we’ll practice strategies for beginning an essay from poetic techniques like image or the musical cadences of speech.
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Warehouse Ring Room
The Life and Work of W.S. Merwin with Christopher Howell
A close read and study of W. S. Merwin.
Lunch Break 11:30am – 12:15pm
12:15pm – 1:45pm | Fifth Breakout Session
Boxx Gallery
Radical Revision with Matthew Nienow
This is often where the real work of writing is done, and yet it is easy to become overwhelmed by all the choices one can make. In our time together, we will explore several strategies for approaching revision with greater curiosity and ferocity combined. We will enter the lab as mad scientists willing to risk failure for greatness.
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Warehouse Ring Room
My Whole Life, in Switchbacks, Ahead of Me with Dan Peters
“Poet, Short Story Writer, Essayist”: That’s how former Yakima resident Raymond Carver wanted to be remembered. In this workshop, we’ll try to honor that wish by writing poems based on Carver’s own poetry, with an emphasis on his connection to the economic life and natural world of the Yakima Valley.
The Details: As many from the Northwest know, Raymond Carver’s family moved to Yakima when he was 2 years old so his dad could work in the Boise Cascade Mill. By the time he graduated from Yakima High School, the valley had made a significant impression on his style and themes. During his formative years, Carver’s working class family lived on the edge in a tough part of town. The experience stayed with Carver. His spare stories and poems display an empathy and respect for his sometimes painful roots in the city of Yakima.
But that’s not all Carver took away from growing up here. Some of his most powerful and moving poems are inspired by his connection to the rivers, and ridges of Central Washington, and later the water and sky on the Olympic Peninsula. In his poetry, short stories, and essays, these two sides of Carver Country will form the starting point for your own writing. *from “Wenas Ridge,” by Raymond Carver
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Paper Hammer
Play with Thom Caraway
Remember when writing was fun? Maybe it still is, but it is also a job and sometimes we lose the sense of play that language used to bring us great joy. Over time, we use language for more and more utilitarian purposes and the magic of language slips a little. In this session, we’ll try to reconnect with a sense of playfulness inherent in language, but forgotten, perhaps. We’ll make ridiculous rhymes, bizarre juxtapositions, we’ll build poems out of Legos. Whatever it takes; and maybe we’ll reconnect with the idea that the poem doesn’t always have to solve all the world’s problems. Maybe having a good time writing is sometimes enough.
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601 Studios
Undoing Ego, The Abbreviated Version with Finn Menzies
“[…] when you do something, you should do it with your whole body and mind; you should be concentrated on what you do. You should do it completely, like a good bonfire. “ – Shunryu Suzuki
“To pay attention, this is our endless and proper work.” – Mary Oliver
In memoriam to the beloved poet, Mary Oliver, in this workshop we will listen to her instructions for living: to pay attention/ be astonished/ tell about it. The blank page is the mind before the sprawl of thinking. There is boundless potential here. How do we approach this freshness with reverence and also ablaze with the bonfire of our whole being? In this workshop we use shamatha meditation as well as experiments in synesthesia, ekphrasis, and collaboration to shake off the dizzy discursive mind and step into the present, blank page to generate surprising and awakened writing.