Sometimes we are doomed to write the same poem over and over, even if it takes different forms. Sometimes we write in new spaces and on different topics, only to find ourselves circling back to our obsessions.

How do our obsessions manifest in our poetry, consciously or otherwise? Knowing what they are and how they come about is key to learning how we as writers approach our own poems, and therefore how to give readers access to them.

This is the topic I’ll address in a workshop I’ll be teaching as part of Hub City Writers Project’s spring workshop series on March 9th in Spartanburg, SC, entitled Recurrence and Echo as Focus in Poetry.

Recurrence is a means we have of emphasizing, prioritizing, and evolving an idea in a poem. How the recurring element changes as the poem continues can be the guidepost for the journey you are taking your readers on. Still early in a century beset with an onslaught of distraction and information, our poetry too can reflect the way we choose what has meaning and what lasts in our lives.

This workshop will discuss the ways recurrence can take shape, be it structurally, sonically, or through image, and how it can both focus the reader on the major concerns of the poem as well as orient the poet by calling attention to the obsessions we write from and toward. We will also discuss tips and strategies for assembling a powerful poetry collection with thematic echoes in mind.

Registration is open now, and space is limited, so if you think you’d like to attend on March 9th, sign up here now!

Hope to see you there!

B