Mining the Local: Archival Poetics

Registration is limited. To register, click here.

Come play in the Vernon County archives with poet Elizabeth Hoover!

In this generative workshop, we will experiment with writing poetry in concert with archival research. We will read the work of three poets who engage in archival research, meaning research that involves handling primary source materials like letters, diaries, photographs, and recordings, among others. In addition, we will write our own poetry using archival objects as a source of inspiration.

Central questions the workshop will explore include: How can research be a part of your creative and poetic practice? How does working with archival material contribute to the invention of new poetic forms?  How does archival research take on different significance when it is filtered through a poetic viewpoint? What happens to our own poetic practice if we privilege exploratory research and deliberately seek out sources of inspiration?

NOTE: Because we will be working with the museum’s collections, please don’t bring food or drink with you to this event. We will have hot drinks in the breakroom available. We will also be writing with pencils or you are welcome to bring a laptop or tablet to write with, but no ink writing implements, please.