Like many writers, for many years I kept a random notes file. This spring, I started a new practice which I call poem seeds. I keep a journal of small thoughts: an image, a comment overheard on the street, wordplay, or anything that might serve in a poem. Calling these seeds gives them more power. Instead of something random I might go back to, I see them as something planted in the soil of my unconscious. In this generative session we will talk about using poem seeds and also brainstorm other poetry practices participants have found helpful. We will take time to write and develop seeds. Participants are welcome to bring their own and I will share some of mine to use as prompts.

Amy Beth Sisson is struggling to emerge, toad-like, from the mud outside of Philly. Her poetry has appeared in Cleaver Magazine, The Night Heron Barks, and Ran Off With the Star Bassoon and is upcoming in The River Heron Review and The Shoutflower. She thinks about the aging body, the history of life in her small town, and how to fight despair. She is currently an MFA student studying poetry at Rutgers Camden.