Guest Leader
2nd Thursday, September 14 ~ Alameda Island Poets Workshop on Zoom
7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Hosted by: Marilyn Flower and Cathy Dana
Featured leader: Diane Lee Moomey
7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Hosted by: Marilyn Flower and Cathy Dana
Featured leader: Diane Lee Moomey
Following the Oxbow: exploring the use of repetition in poetry a Zoom workshop facilitated by Diane Lee Moomey
Oxbow rivers loop widely across flat plains; a canoeist paddling along one of these finds himself, finds herself revisiting the same scenery many times, always from a slightly different perspective. No matter that a river journey of ten water miles might carry the paddler only two or three miles as the bird flies – this kind of travel is not about destinations but about the travel itself. The boater brings snacks, water, binoculars . . .
In the same way, repetition in poetry slows the reader down, slows the listener down, allows a deeper appreciation of word choice, cadence, imagery. In this workshop, we will explore a few of the repetitive patterns often used in spoken and written poetry. Repeating forms such as the pantoum, sestina, canzone, triolet and villanelle use definite structures, often but not always including rhyme; free verse also offers great scope for this tool. Participants will be invited to read examples from their own work or that of other poets—at that time I will suggest we close our eyes and listen to what the poem is doing. Please download the handout to learn more.
Oxbow rivers loop widely across flat plains; a canoeist paddling along one of these finds himself, finds herself revisiting the same scenery many times, always from a slightly different perspective. No matter that a river journey of ten water miles might carry the paddler only two or three miles as the bird flies – this kind of travel is not about destinations but about the travel itself. The boater brings snacks, water, binoculars . . .
In the same way, repetition in poetry slows the reader down, slows the listener down, allows a deeper appreciation of word choice, cadence, imagery. In this workshop, we will explore a few of the repetitive patterns often used in spoken and written poetry. Repeating forms such as the pantoum, sestina, canzone, triolet and villanelle use definite structures, often but not always including rhyme; free verse also offers great scope for this tool. Participants will be invited to read examples from their own work or that of other poets—at that time I will suggest we close our eyes and listen to what the poem is doing. Please download the handout to learn more.
Diane Lee Moomey is a watercolorist and poet living in Half Moon Bay, California, where she is co-host of the monthly reading series, Coastside Poetry; Diane’s work has appeared in many anthologies and poetry journals, and has won a few honors along the way. Her most recent poetry collection, Make For Higher Ground, is available at www.barefootmuse.com.
You can visit her at www.dianeleemoomeyart.com