With Abandon: Toward a Poetics of Absence

What remains in the wake of human industry and habitation? What comes after the end of a town, a city, an empire—or, for that matter, the death of a species, an ecosystem, a nation, a language? And what happens to communities, human and otherwise, after they have been, in a word, abandoned?

This four-hour masterclass will explore geographies and poems inscribed by such disappearances and afterlives. In the first half, through close reading and discussion, we will turn to an eclectic array of poets, philosophers, and thinkers—among them C.D. Wright, Tyehimba Jess, Samuel Amadon, David Tomás Martinez, Cathy Park Hong, Martin Heidegger, Abdelatif Laâbi, Graham Harman, and John Berger—whose works grapple with ruin, memory, and what persists.

The second half will shift to generative writing, with prompts applicable to both poetry and prose that invite participants to compose their own inquiries into what lingers, what transforms, and what new forms of life might emerge from sites of ending.

Access Program
We want our writing classes and seminars to be accessible to everyone, regardless of income and background. We understand that our tuition structure can present obstacles for some people. Our Access Program offers writing class and seminar tuitions at a reduced rate. Most writing classes have at least one access spot available.

Please apply here for access rate tuition. Contact Susan Moore at susan@literary-arts.org if you have questions.

Liaison position
Every in-person class and seminar at Literary Arts has one liaison position. Liaisons perform specific duties for each class meeting. If you are a liaison for a class or seminar, the full amount of your tuition is covered by Literary Arts.

Apply here for the liaison position.