The Naropa Summer Writing Program was good for my writing and for my soul–I met many wonderful poets, including Kristin Prevallet, Rae Graber, Georgia Van Gunten, Eric Siegel, CA Conrad, Anne Waldman, and Rae Armantrout.
The week’s theme was Symbiosis: Hellfire, Drought, and Brimstone: A New Eco-Poetics and I want to share some of the highlights from the workshops, panel discussions, and readings:
–“Do the words you write belong to you? Or are you tapping into a larger field of language?” Kristin Prevallet on the influence of William James and stream-of-consciousness on poetry.
–“Memory is not archeology.” Kristin Prevallet
–Poetry as a prophetic tradition–language as music. Paraphrased description of Jerome Rothenberg’s anthology, Shaking the Pumpkin.
–“The way you treat the land is the way you treat yourself.” Orlando White
–The Idle No More movement posits that the land is alive, not a metaphor. Sound is a Being.
–“Ecopoetics is about the environment of the mind as well as the physical environment.” CA Conrad
–“Always treat language like a dangerous toy.” Anselm Hollo
–“Mitochondria make energy for the cells, but have different DNA than the cells–like visiting poets.” Jack Collom
If anyone has Naropa stories to share, I’d love to hear them! I’m already plotting to go next summer. . .