In the first A Single Moment poetry workshop we covered the uniqueness of a single moment, just as a moment. In this follow-up we consider this moment, as a single moment in time. 

Consider these datasets about a day in the life of 1,000 americans. Which can even be broken down by job type  and by a gender binary. The data is fascinating--it awakens the imagination to the broad scope of ways to exist and move through time. 

What does the poet see in time? In the way we live our lives in the time of a day? Consider this poem by Stephen Burt, Belmont Overture (Poem of Eight A.M.). Or consider Sext in W.H. Auden’s Horae Cononicae where the poet writes a poem for each of the seven canonical hours of prayer in the catholic church (sext is noon and the poem goes into workers mid-days among other things). 

Time is definitely textured by religion and poetry, but it’s also textured by other artists and people, by our daily actions and routines. Consider the website alltheminutes which is essentially a clock of tweets for every minute of the day. Or “A love letter for you” which are 50 murals along the el through west philly, some of which have commentary about time. 

In this workshop you are invited to explore the texture of time through your poetry. Start with a moment in your day and then zoom out a bit, how is that moment taking place in time? Is it in the morning? The evening? Is it part of a routine? A cycle? Are there others participating too? 

Sam Fischer lives in Cambridge MA (temporarily) so he can study Human Development and Education at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education where he will be learning research methods and about the dual nature of adult and child development. He was a founding poetry editor for Toho Journal, and is a facilitator and frequent open-mic-attendee at Green Street Poetry Workshop. His chapbook “Short Cycles” was released in 2020 by Toho Publishing, and he’s working on a found poetry book. He loves to facilitate and edit. Send him an email about poetry! Samuel.t.fischer@gmail.com.

Wednesdays On the Stoop is a series of free writing programming by Zoom every Wednesday from 4 pm - 5 pm. From accountability co-writing to generative prompts to discussions of exciting forms and authors of all genres, these sessions are designed to be a constant structure--every Wednesday at 4 you can count on Blue Stoop to plug you into your writing energy with an informal and supportive session.