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In this workshop, we will engage with examples of the prose poem by contemporary poets Richard Siken, Mary Ruefle, and Claudia Rankine and see how we might use this form to generate new work of our own.
Emily Dickinson famously said “If I read a book and it makes my whole body so cold no fire can warm me, I know that is poetry. If I feel physically as if the top of my head were taken off, I know that is poetry. These are the only ways I know it. Is there any other way?” This definition is helpful when considering the slippery, yet fertile, form known as prose poetry. As prose poems often do not conform to the traditional trappings of poetry, they can offer a unique way to approach our personal experiences of being in the world. In this workshop, we will engage with examples of the prose poem by contemporary poets Richard Siken, Mary Ruefle, and Claudia Rankine and see how we might use this form to generate new work of our own. We will mine our own memories and/or observations, work with prompts, and explore strategies for drafting and revising. This workshop is open to all, from the newest new to more experienced writers.
Pens and notebooks will be provided for participants. You are also welcome to bring your own materials and/or a writing device like a laptop.
Facilitator Hannah Sullivan Brown holds an MA in English from Indiana University and an MFA in Poetry from Butler University, where she also served as Poetry Editor of Booth magazine. Recent work appears in New Ohio Review, So It Goes, and Sport Literate. She lives with her family and teaches in Indianapolis
About the Butler MFA Community Workshop Series
The Butler MFA Community Workshop series is a free writing program facilitated by Butler University alumni of the MFA in Creative Writing. These one-off workshops, hosted at partner sites including bookstores, nonprofits, and public libraries in the Greater Indianapolis area, connect adults at all stages of their writing journeys with workshop experiences shaped by graduate-level study. Thanks to a generous gift from the Efroymson Family Fund, alumni from the program's concentrations in Poetry, Creative Nonfiction, and Fiction will guide local writers into creative practice. Each workshop is designed to help participants generate new work, learn new ways of thinking about the craft of writing, and more confidently continue their own writing practices. Learn more about Butler University's Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing by visiting their website.
Decatur was the first township outside of Center Township to receive a branch library when the Marwood Branch opened in 1967 in a storefront location. Strong library usage throughout the township demonstrated the need for a new 11,300-square-foot branch that opened on Kentucky Avenue in 1990 as the Decatur Branch and continues to serve the community today.