The Art of Poetry

In celebration of National Poetry Month in April and Older Americans Month in May, we present this poetry writing workshop for older adult poets of all levels -- even ones who don't think of themselves as poets. We'll read a wide variety of poems, new and old, and will excavate these readings, uncovering many possibilities for what a poem is and what it can do. There will be writing exercises and prompts both in and out of class to kick-start our imagination, and each week, we'll closely read and engage with fellow participant poems. This is a drop-in workshop -- you can come to one or all of the sessions. Registration is required to receive the Zoom link. If you have questions, contact Amy DelPo at adelpo@denverlibrary.org.

Your teacher will be Kim O'Connor, who is a North Carolina native who lives in Golden, Colorado. Her first book White Lung was released from Saturnalia Books in 2021 and is a finalist for the Colorado Book Award. Kim has over 20 years of experience teaching and working with writers ages eight to adult. She was the Young Writers Program co-director for Lighthouse Writers Workshop for eight years. She received an MFA from the University of Maryland in 2009, where she was a winner of both the Academy of American Poetry student prize and the AWP Intro to Journals contest. Before that, she taught creative writing and literature in middle school, high school, and college classrooms in Maryland, West Virginia, and North Carolina. Kim’s poetry has been published in B O D Y, Copper Nickel, Colorado Review, Harvard Review, Mid-American Review, Slice, storySouth, THRUSH, and elsewhere