Wordshop 101

I started Wordshop 101 under the pretenses of documenting what it's like to write a novel. My explorations have branched out in to literary history, craft issues, and popular culture, but this week, I bring it all back home with the first excerpt from my novel. Though I've revised and polished it many times over, it largely stands unfinished in need of something that I cannot give it: an unbiased, critical eye. I'd love to know what you all think of what I've written, what you needs revision and what can stay. Email your thoughts to [email protected] and enjoy. 

What do an art forger, a Texas Oilman, and William Shakespeare all have in common? On this week's program, we look at the art of forgery: what it can reveal to us about art, society, and identity. Plus, a primer in basic forgery skills for the adventurous. Tune in! 

How does a small liberal arts school in the hills of North Carolina go from hosting Albert Einstein, Buckminster Fuller, Josef and Anni Albers, and John Cage to bust? Tune in to find out on this week's podcast from Wordshop 101. 

Surprise! Beyoncé did it; now I'm doing it--dropping this episode out of nowhere! This past weekend, Beyoncé released her visual album Lemonade. It features the work of poet Warsan Shire. On this episode, we'll explore how Shire manages to pack a poetic punch while making her poem accessible to all kinds of readers. Plus, Beyoncé. . . 

As the speaker in Cynthia Cruz’s collection, Wunderkammer, moves about her drug-infused world, we get the sense that even in the wilderness, whether woods or sea, she has been confined to a room. These rooms, psychedelically ornate, seem as if their arrangement was left up to someone other than the speaker. They stand as landscapes of addiction, the psychological traumas of the speaker’s past ruling over them, godlike; addiction is her curator, rolling out “endless fluorescent / Green lawns,” bejeweling cabinets, and installing locks at every turn. Despite the depth of the speaker’s afflictions, Cruz handling of imagery, metaphor, and motif shine and shimmer, illuminating for the reader a path toward understanding a mind in deep, dark trouble.

Black Mountain College: Robert Rauschenberg attended; Josef Albers taught there. So did Willem de Kooning, John Cage, and Merce Cunningham. This Asheville institution was only around for 24 years. What happened? How is it that a school embraced by so many great artists went the way of the dodo?  For more information, visit www.wordshop101.com

Challenge: describe a barn as seen by a man whose son has been killed in a war. Do not mention the son, the war, or death. Do not mention the man who does the seeing.  Many submissions. One winner. Tune in to find out! 

Prepping for a 'uuuge episode for next week and unfortunately, I need a little more time. Stay tuned! 

How do we arm ourselves against adversity when no one has shown us how? Is it possible to glean anything besides grief in loss? These are just some of the questions that Diane Seuss explores in latest collection of poems, Four-Legged Girl. Join me for this review-edition of the Wordshop 101 podcast as I reflect on reading Seuss's excellent book.  Special thanks to Graywolf Press for providing review copies of Seuss's collection.  For more information, please visit https://www.graywolfpress.org/books/four-legged-girl

Writer's block is a phenomenon that every writer undergoes. It can seem crippling, interminable, and can transform a writer's confidence into self-loathing. Why do people get writer's block? Are there strategies to counter it? On this episode of the Workshop 101 podcast, we look at what it feels like to have writer's block and how to overcome it. 

Midway through Ezra Pound's career, there is a noticeable shift in focus. He turns his attention from strictly literary criticism and poetry to social and political topics, specifically economics and fascism. What prompts this shift? How does it affect his poetry? On the second of two episodes on Pound, we investigate these changes and discuss Pound's turn to Italian fascism, as well as the development of his life's work, The Cantos. Works Cited Casillo, Robert. “Anti-semitism, Castration, and Usury in Ezra Pound”. Criticism 25.3 (1983): 239–265. Hall, Donald. “Ezra Pound: The Art of Poetry No. 5.” The Paris Review. Summer-Fall 1972. Online. Accessed 20 March 2016. http://www.theparisreview.org/back-issues/28 Joyce, James. Ulysses. New York: Penguin. 1986. Kenner, Hugh. The Pound Era. Berkeley: U of California, 1971. Print. Litz, A. Walton et al. (eds.). The Cambridge History of Literary Criticism. [Online]. “The Cambridge History of Literary Criticism. (No. 7)”. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Longenbach, James. “Poetic Compression”. New England Review (1990-) 32.1 (2011): 164–172. McGann, Jerome J.. “The "cantos" of Ezra Pound, the Truth in Contradiction”. Critical Inquiry 15.1 (1988): 1–25. Menand, Louis. “The Pound Error.” The New Yorker. 9 June 2008. Online. http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2008/06/09/the-pound-error Pound, Ezra. ABC of Reading. New York: New Directions. 1934. Pound, Ezra. “Canto 3.” Poetry Foundation. 20 March 2016. http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/241044 Pound Ezra, Guide to Kulchur. New York: New Directions. 1970. Pound, Ezra. “Papyrus.” Academy of American Poets. Web. 20 March 2016. https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/papyrus Pound, Ezra. “Selected World War II Broadcasts.” Modern American Poetry at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Web. 20 March 2016. http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets/m_r/pound/radio.html. Pound, Ezra. “Sestina: Altaforte.” Poetry Foundation. Web. 20 March 2016. http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/240262 Pound, Ezra. “Villanelle: The Psychological Hour.” Poetry Foundation. 20 March 2016. http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/browse/7/3#!/20570622 Rainey, Lawrence. “Between Mussolini and Me.” London Review of Books. 18 March 1999.

All of the following things are true about Ezra Pound: he was a poet, a critic, a champion of Modernist literature, a convicted traitor, and a fascist. But if Modernism has taught us anything, it's that every layer of one's identity or history is but one of a complex system of experiences and beliefs. How is it possible that one man can singularly influence culture on such a large scale, yet is identified most commonly for his misdeeds? Is it possible to learn from his contributions and recognize his guilt? 

The English language contains a beautiful combination of sounds, spellings, pronunciations, and history. Some of these features might trip up or frustrate the English-language learner or even the native English speaker. But as a writer, all of these layers of complication provide a range of possibilities when constructing tone and feeling in a sentence.  In Episode 2 of Wordshop 101, we'll look at the history of the English language from Beowulf to Ulysses, and talk about how choosing the right kinds of words can make all the difference. 

Why does poetry seem so elusive to some, and yet so powerful to others? I'll try to answer that question by taking a look at the use of the poetic line. In this episode, we'll read William Carlos Williams poem, "To a Poor Old Woman." Follow along with the text below!   TO A POOR OLD WOMAN  munching a plum onthe street a paper bag of them in her hand  They taste good to herThey taste goodto her. They tastegood to her You can see it by the way she gives herself to the one half sucked out in her hand  Comforted a solace of ripe plums seeming to fill the air They taste good to her       --William Carlos Williams