Revising Revision: Virtual Workshop with The Poetry Society of New York

With poet Sumita Charkraborty!

We often use two words interchangeably: “revise” and “edit.” Are they the same thing? The etymology for revision tells us that the word means “to re-envision”; the etymology for edit leads to “producer,” “publisher,” and the like. Putting some conceptual space between those two things can help revision feel exciting, playful, and agential. This workshop takes seriously the fact that revision means to “re-envision,” and that the craft of revision can center play, adventure, and using one’s physical senses instead of following the fallacious Pied Piper named “perfection.” Change the setting of a poem to include different odors and hues; play Mad-Libs with its diction to create different sounds; cut it up and scramble it out of order to feel it with your hands—the possibilities for re-imagining your poems are endless, and we will explore those possibilities together through discussion and collaborative games. (You’re encouraged to bring a poem of yours to work with, although if you’d rather not, a sample poem will be provided for you to use to explore the games.)