Elemental Powers of Poetry

Service Description

Reading poetry helps us read the world. In this workshop we will read, listen to, and practise the craft of writing poetry around the theme of “the Four Elements,” devoting one hour to each. The goal is to use poetry to quiet the noise of our daily lives and hone our attention, awareness, compassion, and discernment. We will experience language’s immense power to connect, conserve, and create, even as we witness its power to divide and to discourage generous action. Like the four elements, language is all around us. We will therefore take a poet’s advice: accustom yourself to reflect on the words you use, hear, or read....For if words are not THINGS, they are LIVING POWERS, by which the things of most importance to mankind are actuated, combined, and humanized. (Samuel Taylor Coleridge) Featured poets: Billy Collins, Emily Dickinson, Thomas King, John O’Donohue, Mary Oliver, Alice Oswald, Shakespeare (excerpts from The Tempest, A Midsummer Night’s Dream), Sky Dancer (Louise Bernice Halfe), assorted song lyrics. ______________________________________ Materials: Copies of poems will be provided as will pens and paper. (no materials cost) Requirements: No prior experience with poetry is required. ___________________________________________ Bio: A retired English Professor of Early Modern Literature who worked in the U.S. for many years, Meakin holds degrees from the University of Toronto and the University of Oxford. She has published two books, one with University of Oxford Press and one with Ashgate Press. More than anything she wants to share the transformative power of poetry.