Writers in the Mountains (WIM) presents Ekphrastic Poetry: A Jump Start from Other Art Forms and Everyday Objects, a six-week long workshop with Sharon Ruetenik, March 30 – May 4, 2023. The class will be held online Thursday from 6 to 8 pm.
Once you register and pay, you will be given instructions on how to join the class.
An often asked question of poets is where do you get your ideas. Frequently the incentive to write may be found in the the works of others. Here are a few examples. Consider the paintings of Kara Walker, Klimt, or Gauguin. Peruse your family album or enjoy the majesty of Ansel Adam’s photographs. Read the work of other poets from John Donne to Major Jackson. What film left you thinking for several days after its viewing? Explore the personal meaning of a beloved object, such as a coffee mug or Roseville vase, for inspiration. During the first session we will look at samples and discuss how to begin our first piece. We will share our efforts throughout. The last session will be a presentation of our best work and a discussion of what we have learned from our classmates.
Until her recent retirement, Sharon Ruetenik was the international student adviser, writing center coordinator, and a part-time instructor in composition and literature at SUNY Delhi. Her poetry chapbook, The Wooden Bowl, illustrates the role of women from Eve to Dorothy. Ruetenik’s work has appeared in print and online journals, most recently the anthologies Like Light and Prolific Press, Three Line Poetry, an online edition of The Catskill Mountain Region Guide, and the print journals Iconoclast and Evening Street Review. She has taught poetry as a college instructor, for WIM, and at the Ogden Library through a grant from the New York Council for the Humanities. In addition Ruetenik has functioned as a facilitator for the council leading discussions, including “World War I,” “Aging,” “The Politics of Food” and “The Muslim Journey”. Ruetenik was awarded a fellowship at the Saltonstall Foundation of the Arts and Platte Clove. She particularly enjoys sharing her work and has read throughout the region. Of great interest as both educator and writer are what initially sparks the work, its process, and the art of tweaking. Her own work involves imaginative reworking of fairy tales and myths and exploring the hard truths of life and its incongruities.
To register, e-mail writersinthemountains@gmail.com. To register online, visit writersinthemountains.org. Class fee is $125. Registration deadline is March 23. Class limited to ten students.
Writers in the Mountains is a 501 ( c ) (3) not-for-profit organization with a mission to provide a nurturing environment for the practice, appreciation and sharing of creative writing. Learn more at writersinthemountains.org.
