Workshop Summaries

Cultural and Bilingual Poetry - Adan Baca

Students will learn more about writing poetry in languages other than English, and mixing languages in their poems. Students will also learn about using poetry to address cultural topics such as identity, family, community and political topics.

Adan Baca, is an accomplished and widely published poet, psychologist and experienced workshop giver. The fact that he is bilingual provides him with significant capabilities for reaching out to English Language Learners. In addition to working in the New Mexico CultureNet Poets-in-the-Schools, he is a counselor at Rio Grande High School, Albuquerque.

The Highway Poem:
Turning Righteous Anger Into Kickass Poetry - Polly Summar

Have you ever been so angry about something that you wanted to create a poem about it and write it in giant letters on a sign in front of your home? If you've driven on NM 599 in the past year, you may have seen just that: one man's changing lines in a poem about global warming posted on an adobe wall. In this workshop, we're going to find out what hackles you about the state of life in America/New Mexico/Santa Fe/your school/neighborhood/family. We'll start by looking at how a range of newspapers, from mainstream to alternative, cover or don't cover the issues you're passionate about, while exploring other kickass poetry about social issues. We'll progress to writing your own Highway Poem.

Polly Summar is a career journalist who found poetry inside her when she discovered the writing of June Jordan. After finishing a master's degree in journalism at Northwestern University that sought to harden students to the ways of the world, she decided to listen to her intuition when it came to learning "how to write" anything. She currently works for the Santa Fe bureau of the Albuquerque Journal and has been published in The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Omni magazine and American Photographer.

Identity and Political Writing (All women's group) - Beata Tsosie

This morning workshop will start with a short exploration/forum on issues surrounding our individual identities. We will also explore the different issues that make up identity and how personal experience, society, heritage, family, etc shape us. We will also explore political poetry, its importance, and discuss the female perspective of global and national issues. Writing exercises will focus on persona poems (writing from the perspective of others), group poems that address various issues, or personal political poems.

Beata Tsosie embodies a quiet, strong passion for language that she is able to convey to audiences who hear her read as well as to students in the schools where she visits. The fact that she is a Native American and parent gives her a sensibility which is very effectively employed in communicating with students and teachers alike

Odes - Terra Louise Ussery

In this workshop we will discuss some of Pablo Neruda's work, various writing techniques and develop and edit our own odes.  Nobel Prize winner, Pablo Neruda, found beauty and detail in things as seemingly simple as tomatoes, soap or bees and those as complex as love, envy or solitude.  He explored much of the world's wonder through breathtaking odes.  His poetry reminds us that inspiration is not something distant, foreign or abstract but can be found every day. By focusing our poetic attention and writing skills on something specific, we will discuss approaches to getting started, gathering thoughts and finding metaphors.  Each language has its own personality and literature captures its spirit.  We will explore Neruda's Spanish words and English translations of his work and talk a bit about how language affects poetry.  Through peer editing, we will enjoy the value of other perspectives and the vigor of working toward a finished piece.  In our exploration of odes we will refine our ability to recognize potential poetry.

Poetry and the Unconscious - Dana Levin

In this workshop we will discuss poems by master poets and write poems that engage the unconscious, source of our wildest and strangest dreams, thoughts, visions and ideas— perfect food for poetry! The workshop will end with a round of Japanese Renga. Come to the workshop to find out what this is!

Dana Levin is the author of two books, In the Surgical Theatre and Wedding Day. She is the recipient of numerous honors, including a Witter Bynner Fellowship in Poetry from the Library of Congress and a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship. A teacher of poetry for 15 years, Dana chairs and teaches in the Creative Writing Program at College of Santa Fe.

Poetry & Cartooning - Enrique Martínez

Since the beginning of time, images combined with words have been used to convey feeling and emotion.  This technique is alive and well today! Students will learn the basics in creating an original piece of art using the combination of words and images.  Students will be asked to bring (or create in class) an original poem and turn it into a comic.  Every step from scripting, layouts, rough art to final masterpiece will be taught.  No drawing or art experience is needed.

Enrique (sykryk) Martínez is a 28 year-old writer, artist, activist, musician born and raised in Espanola, NM.  He is one of the founders of the Spanapalooza Youth summit and organizes concerts and workshops at the Hands Across Cultures Community Teen center. Enríque is also the president of Sweet Seven Thousand's Baaadassss Comics, a local comic artist collective which focuses on education, awareness and self-expression.

Portrait/Self-Portrait - Michelle Holland & Alex Traube

Workshop participants will engage in active listening exercises with other workshop participants. From these exercises each person will write a “portrait” of someone else as well as a “self-portrait.” We will make photographs of each person in the workshop, to which we will digitally attach one of the poems to create a word-and-photo portrait.

Michelle Holland is a widely published poet and master teacher. Currently, she teaches at McCurdy School, Española, and is coordinator of CultureNet’s Poets-in-the-Schools program.

Alex Traube is the founder and executive director of New Mexico CultureNet. He also is a photographer whose works are in museum collections in North America, Europe, and Australia.

The Present but Not Tense Cooking Show:
Adventures in Preparing Fresh, Organic Poetry - LaVon Rice

Hearing the word “poem” is enough is make some of us freeze. Never fear--participants won’t be frozen and overprocessed in this workshop. It’s all about a line turning on a dime, a spontaneous dine on the right-here-right-now. Stop. Don’t think. A poem is trying to bust through and you don’t have the right ingredients, right? Put down your recipe--time to write like it’s your last supper. Join us as we cook up collaborative poems, poetry-in-motion, first-thought rhymes, and fun times. We be foolish and fast, and give syntax some sass. Oh—and it’s better if you’re half-baked.

LaVon Rice is a poet, social activist and writing and reading specialist, the latter in after-school programs for teens. She also has led poetry workshops for oncology patients at Howard University Hospital. In addition to working with New Mexico CultureNet in our poetry programs, LaVon heads up online marketing for the Santa Fe Arts & Culture Portal.

Spoken Word/Slam Poetry -Danny Solís & Manuel González

Spoken word and slam poetry involve skills in public speaking and acting as well as creative writing. This workshop, taught by two maestros of the form, will help participants hone those skills as well as relate spoken word poetry to music and other oral traditions.

Danny Solís is the “father of slam poetry” in northern New Mexico. He has mentored and inspired an entire generation of performance poets. He organized and directed the National Poetry Slam Finals, in 2005.

Manuel González is a next-generation performance poet from Albuquerque. His enormous heart and generous spirit touch all who encounter him. A product of the barrio, he inspires young people who respond to his deeply moving sincerity and charisma.

Witness, Wildness & Form - Joan Logghe

How to go from rant and chant into more formal poetry without losing its life and vividness. We'll do a wild write, and then re-vision the work into pantoums (A Malaysian form) or blues (an African American form).