Light Becomes Itself in the Dark: Experiments in Chiaroscuro [Sierra Nelson]

“Light becomes itself in the dark, and becomes nothing when the real light comes.” writes Brenda Shaughnessy in her poem “Streetlamps.” Visual artists use light and shadow to direct our eye and suggest dimension, movement, and mood; how can writers use similar effects, and in what unique ways can they bend the rules? Playing with imagery, tone, shape, pacing, and synesthesia – and looking to poetry as well as painting, photography, film, and dance – we’ll create a new portfolio of work from unusual in-class writing prompts and field notes. All levels welcome; slanted toward poetry, open to prose.