How does a poet hold the reader's energy and attention in a longer poem or through a book of poems? We will explore how poets use links, leaps, and leitmotifs:

Links create a chain of connections from one idea or image to another and another. Leaps place ideas or images in opposition in a way that leaves room for meaning. Leitmotifs repeat themes or images at key points in the text.

In this generative session we will look at Ross Gay's Be Holding and work by other poets. We will talk about our experiences with reading and writing longer work and will play with using these ideas to begin a new piece or revise a draft. While we will focus on poetry, prose writers are welcome!

Amy Beth Sisson (she/her) is still struggling to emerge, toad-like, from the mud outside of Philly. Her poetry has appeared in Cleaver Magazine, The Night Heron Barks, Ran Off With the Star Bassoon, Philadelphia Stories and is upcoming in The Shoutflower. She is currently an MFA student studying poetry at Rutgers Camden, a Graduate Assistant for the Institute for the Study of Global Racial Justice, and an intern for Fence Magazine.