“the things themselves”: Virtual Workshop with The Poetry Society of New York

With poet Daniela Naomi Molnar!

“The most sensuous poets are the ones I trust the most,” says the poet Jorie Graham, citing the way that a word like “justice” can mean a thousand things to a thousand people while a word like “salt” has a much smaller range of possible associations. This workshop will focus our attention on the world of the senses and how writing from our senses can sharpen, heighten, and expand our poetry and our relationship with the world, offering a more empathetic and deeper engagement with each other and with the living earth. The title of this course is a line from a Lucille Clifton poem. We’ll use this poem and a range of others as lenses to consider the ways our challenging cultural and ecological moment is also an invitation to widened wonder and love. This workshop is open to everyone. No prior experience with writing or reading poetry is needed or expected. We will talk, read, and write together. You’ll receive a bounty of readings and prompts to inspire your writing in the workshop and beyond.

About the Instructor: Daniela Naomi Molnar is a poet, artist, writer, and pigment-worker who creates with color, water, language, and place. Her book CHORUS won the 2024 Oregon Book Award for Poetry and was selected by Kazim Ali as the winner of Omnidawn Press’ 1st/2nd Book Award. Her work is the subject of a front-page feature in the Los Angeles Times, a PBS Oregon Art Beat profile, and a feature in Poetry Daily. Her next books include: PROTOCOLS (Ayin Press, 2025) and Light / Remains (Bored Wolves Press, 2026). Her work will also be included in the forthcoming Volume 2 of The Ecopoetry Anthology. She founded the Art + Ecology program at the Pacific Northwest College of Art and helped start and run the backcountry artist residency Signal Fire. www.danielamolnar.com / Instagram: @daniela_naomi_molnar

* *This workshop will take place on Zoom.**

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