FREE Reaching for Joy [Luther Hughes]

Poetry is not always about trauma or violence, though that is what makes us human. Poetry is also about happiness, joy, and triumph, and sometimes we forget these, too, make us human. This workshop will close-read and listen to works by Lucille Clifton, Jane Hirschfield, Jorie Graham, Camille T. Dungy, Mahmoud Darwish, and others. Through discussion and writing exercises, students will understand the importance of joy, the world around them, and how to aim toward it in poems.