Tracing Ghosts 2: Typographic and Digital Poetry Techniques

In Tracing Ghosts 1, we explored a wide range of poetic techniques that engaged with history, archives, and visual ephemera.  Often, the prospect of using modern digital tools can be intimidating. Fortunately, the basics of layout, image manipulation and typographical exploration don't need to be complex or inaccessible.

This two-hour workshop explores how poetry can move beyond the line and into the visual field using free or low-cost web-based software. We’ll recreate pieces from poets like E.E. Cummings, Douglas Kearney, and Nicole Sealey, then dive into hands-on creation time. Whether you’re interested in concrete poetry, digital remix, or reimagining the shape of your own language, this session offers a guided, experimental space for integrating form, texture, and technology into your poetic voice.

While the class builds on the archival and research-based methods of Tracing Ghosts 1, it’s open to all writers. No prior experience with design software, visual art, or coding is required.

Instructor

Warren C. Longmire is a Negro poet, performer, and technologist from North Philadelphia. A co-founder of the Excelano Project Spoken Word Collective, his work has appeared in Action, Spectacle, The Cleveland Review of Books, and The American Poetry Review. He was featured in The Best American Poetry 2021 (selected by Tracy K. Smith) and A Black Philadelphia Reader: African American Writings About the City of Brotherly Love. His latest book, Bird/Diz [an erased history of bebop], was published by Bunny Presse in 2022. He is currently completing his MFA at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop.