Poetry, Care, and the Work of Witness: A Generative Craft Class on Laura Gilpin

Join me on December 21, 2-4 PM EST

Dear Friends,

Earlier this summer, I wrote Can You Tell Me What Life Is? for The Poetry Foundation on the life and legacy of poet-nurse Laura Gilpin.

First—because this truly never gets old—let’s revisit Gilpin’s “The Two-Headed Calf”:

The reality, as I argue in my essay, is that Gilpin’s body of work has been largely overlooked in favor of this one poem.

I want to continue to grow Gilpin’s audience while helping poets tap into—and practice—the kind of attention and compassion her work can teach us.

On December 21, from 2-4 PM EST, I’ll be teaching a 2‑hour generative craft class diving into the underrated, luminous work of poet Laura Gilpin. We will read well beyond “The Two-Headed Calf,” discussing the work of caregiving and of poetry, and approaching both with deep curiosity and attention to mystery.

The session will include:

• Close reading a selection of Gilpin’s poems, paying particular attention to how she handles the subject of mortality and the role of the caregiver

• Discussion of how Gilpin’s experiences as a nurse shaped her inquiries about life, death, meaning, and the everyday

• A 20-min writing exercise from a selection of prompts inspired by Gilpin to help you write a poem (or piece of creative nonfiction!) grounded in the visible and the invisible. I will ask for volunteers to share, and I will offer verbal feedback to push the next draft forward.

This class is for you if you’re drawn to poetry that intersects with healthcare and caregiving and if, like Gilpin, you’re ready to ask deeper questions on the page about the nature of life, “can you tell me what life is?”

The 2-hour class is $65. Registration is limited.

I look forward to reading this tremendous poet together and to writing and sharing our own poems.

Love,
xM