College of Poetry Announces Summer Workshops

The College of Poetry at 7 West Street in Warwick has announced two workshops to be offered during the summer term to run from July 10 until August 28. Each workshop will meet for two hours a week during the eight week course. Tuition for each is $150 and includes admission to the performance by Mikhail Horowitz and Gilles Malkine on July 31. Enrollees are regarded as "guest poets," and workshops are presented in a casual and open manner designed to be useful for writers of all levels of experience.

The Saturday morning course, titled A Waking Dream: Learning from the Romantics, will run from 10 a.m. until 12 noon.  This workshop will be taught by William Seaton.  “We are all Romantics,” says Seaton.  Through reading of the Wordsworth, Shelley, Keats, Byron and the other English Romantics and exercises based on reactions, either imitation, conscious avoidance, or something more complex, workshop participants will develop a deep understanding of the meaning of Romanticism and of its relevance to tomorrow’s poem. 

William Seaton’s Spoor of Desire: Selected Poems was published in 2008 by FootHills Publishing; his Dada Poems from the German is forthcoming from Nirala.

Seaton’s poetry, reviews, translations, and essays have recently appeared in Poetry Flash, Chiron Review, Adirondack Review, Gander Press Review, Burp, and Chronogram. Active in poetry performance all his life, he has read in Budapest and Kathmandu and, for sixteen years, has directed the Poetry on the Loose Reading/Performance Series. He has taught at Long Island University and, as an adjunct, at many area institutions. Seaton posts five essays, literary and familiar, every month at williamseaton.blogspot.com.

The afternoon workshop, emphasizing oral skills, will be conducted by two experienced poet/performers: Robert Milby and Irene O’Garden. The first four weeks, led by Milby is titled The Poet's Voice and will focus on effective public recitation and speaking, including vocal projection and overcoming anxiety. Milby will also offer practical information on open and featured readings in this area and literary networking.

Robert Milby is the author of 5 poetry chapbooks as well as a full-length volume, Ophelia's Offspring (Foothills Publishing, 2007). His Victorian House: Ghosts and Gothic Poems is forthcoming from the same press. He has been widely published in magazines and anthologies, and is editor, with Steve Hirsch, of the premiere edition of the College of Poetry's annual, the Wawayanda Review, due out in 2010. Milby was a founder last year (with Steve Calitri and William Seaton) of the Northeast Poetry Center's College of Poetry. He is very active in the regional reading scene as performer, proselytizer, and host. See his website www.robertmilby.com.

For the second half of the workshop Irene O’Garden will present Sounding Your Depths: Sonic Joy on Page and Stage. This 4-week course is designed to strengthen sonic presence in both your writing and your public readings. You'll explore sound and intention, practice writing for the ear, and learn simple techniques to enhance your open mic and feature readings, all in a warm atmosphere with an experienced performer and coach.

Irene O’Garden‘s poetry has found its way to the Off-Broadway stage (Women On Fire published by Samuel French), into hardcover (Fat Girl from Harper), into children’s books and into many literary journals and anthologies. A professional actress, she has performed her poetry throughout the Hudson Valley and beyond, and has worked as a writing and performance coach for over twenty years.  More information is available from her website www.ireneogarden.com.

The July 31 performance reading by Mikhail Horowitz and Gilles Malkine will be open to the general public for a modest admission as well as to workshop participants. As Peter Schickele (P.D.Q. Bach) says, “Horowitz does with the English language what Jim Carrey does with his face . . . he and his guitar-totin’ accomplice, Gilles Malkine, are a full-fledged delight to experience."

The College publishes many guest poets and others associated with the institution in its annual, the Wawayanda Review, the first issue of which will be available this spring.

For further information or to register for a course, call William Seaton at 845-294-8085.