NEH Reading and Conversation Series: Victoria Chang and Afaa Weaver

Continuing our poetry lecture and conversation series are Victoria Chang and Afaa Weaver, with conversation moderated by Kate Gale, on bending the rules of Formalism.

With the support of the National Endowment for the Humanities, Red Hen Press is proud to bring a unique lecture and conversation series to the public, focusing on the history and future of formalism in poetry. 

The unifying thread of this conversation series is exploring formalist poetry and the role it plays in our culture as poetry continues to evolve. Why do we as readers and listeners to poetry continue to love the sound and rhythm of formal poetry? Why does it create a kind of heartbeat for us? 

Our series is organized with a movement from the traditional to the contemporary, bringing in diverse experiences and voices. Speakers will discuss poetry’s formal foundation and how teaching these building blocks allows for growth. In order for young people to do experimental poetry, they have to know what rules to break; to play with form, they have to know what form is. In poetry, traditional forms are the way we learn technique. If poetry were dance, form is ballet.

Streamed live on redhen.org, facebook.com/redhenpress, and youtube.com/redhenpressbeats