Contemporary American Women Poets
In June, usually in even numbered years, I teach a class based on my directed reading. If you’re a woman who has published a book of poems in the past two years, it’s likely I’ve looked at your book. Discoveries of six great writers are revealed. And, in honor of the long running WOM-PO listserv(?!) a foremother (celebrated woman poet) is an added bonus. blog post: Why read women poets.
- In 2014, our foremother was Alicia Ostriker (1937-
- In 2016, our foremother was Ruth Stone (1915-2011)
- In 2018, our foremother was Carolyn Kizer (1925-2014)
- In 2020, our foremother was Jean Valentine (1934 – 2020)
- Here are the books I sampled for 2020
- In 2022, our foremother was Marilyn Nelson (1946 –
- Here are the books I sampled for 2022
A great review and analysis of the included poets! The instructor put in a lot of time and effort to make this a meaningful experience. The class handout is a valuable reference. The instructor’s knowledge and enthusiasm helped make the class engaging.
M.M.
This LitFest seminar left me feeling refreshed and inspired, two feelings I have not felt in a long time. I feel ready to face the page again.
Anon.
Poets in Translation
For nine years during LitFest I paired two poets writing in languages other than English. We surveyed poets writing in French, Italian, Spanish, Polish, German, Russian, Swedish, Japanese and Greek and compared various translations.
- Zbigniew Herbert & Tomas Tranströmer
- Marina Tsvetaeva & Wislawa Szymborska
- Anna Akhmatova & Paul Celan – blog post on Anna Akhmatova
- Federico Lorca & Pablo Neruda
- C.P. Cavafy & Eugenio Montale – blog post: How many ways are there to say . . .
- Sappho & Fernando Pessoa
- Osip Mandelstam & Rainer Marie Rilke
- Francis Ponge & Yosano Akiko
- Adam Zagajewski & Reina María Rodríguez.
This is exactly the kind of class that I love at Lighthouse: a deep dive into a topic or body of work that I am not familiar with, handled expertly and in an engaging way. The time flew, I learned a lot, and I left fired up.
E.R.
Lynn did an amazing amount of researching preparation for class, facilitated a fun discussion and provided us with a wealth of interesting and helpful resources. Thank you!
S.T.
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