“Miracles are wrought with axes” – Invective Poetry Workshop

Def. – Invective denotes speech or writing that attacks, insults, or denounces a person, topic, or institution. It involves the use of abusive and negative use of language.

Poetry is many things, including an excellent vehicle for carrying our anger into the world. And given how much happening in the world justifies our anger, poetry might also be one of the most constructive ways of expressing it. Together we will read work from Bertolt Brecht, Eve L. Ewing, Noor Hindi, and others; then, we’ll write our own invective poems to confront our adversaries and make our own angry miracles.

Instructor

Ryan Collins is the author of A New American Field Guide & Song Book and several chapbooks. Recently he was a finalist in the Omnidawn Poetry Chapbook Contest, the DIAGRAM/New Michigan Press Chapbook Contest, and the Sixth Finch Chapbook Contest. His work has appeared in Apartment, The Biscuit Hill, Coma, The Mixtape Review, Ninth Letter, Past Ten, Sink Review, swamp pink, and many other places. He is the Executive Director of the Midwest Writing Center and hosts the SPECTRA Reading Series in Rock Island, IL, where he lives