Participate in poetry marathon event hosted by the Writers Guild at Bloomington on April 1
Calling all writers. The Writers Guild at Bloomington welcomes every skill level and all writing genres. They offer activities year round — and even a scholarship. April 1 is the group's "Poetry Marathon, an All Day Event."
A plethora of poets, 11 and 1/2 continuous hours of them, will enlighten and entertain; the finale is an open mic welcoming poets for five minutes each, from 7 to 8 p.m. Morgenstern's Bookstore and Cafe is the stage.
About The Writers Guild at Bloomington
The guild is a group of writers who support each other as they hone their words. They encourage writers as well as the Monroe County residents and other artists to get involved. The guild has a monthly business meeting, distributes a newsletter, and produces and supports readings, panels, workshops and other events.
Joan Hawkins is the guild's chair. One of her favorite events is the Fourth Street Spoken Word Stage, where the members operate the stage at Fourth and Dunn streets. It's two days of nonstop readings, with some music.
Tune your tone: thoughts from guild chair Joan Hawkins
"You get different voices and intonations," Hawkins said. "An interesting storyteller has to start with a good text — a story or poem or creative memoir piece — and then lift it off the page for you."
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Being a live event means things can go wrong quickly.
"Once someone in the process of having a major psychological break came (to the reading), saw the group gathered and just panicked, saying that he'd already had rabies."
Shocked, Hawkins realized what was happening and got a friend to help her lead the man outside.
"Thank goodness the featured author was a seasoned reader and was able to reassure the audience and to keep on carrying on. But that was the one event when I just wanted the floor to open up and suck me in."
As far as something like a novel, the way its tone speaks to Hawkins is often more significant than what's happening in the plot.
"Either I like the narrative voice or I don't. And I can usually tell in 30 pages if I'm going to like it."
Hawkins' work is often "creative memoir."
"Usually what happens for me is that a memory of an event or a person just bubbles up and won't go away."
Surprise is important, too. "I've been invited to read by people who know my work, and I want to give them something new."
Hawkins' Ph.D is in comparative literature, and she was a 19th century French and English lit student before embarking on film. Feminist theory led her to film studies, then the Gothic took her to horror.
"One of my areas of expertise is avant-garde cinema — movies where you watch a bag blowing in the wind for three minutes or watch a woman making meatloaf in real time."
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For those who need fast action, she said you probably need a plot that seizes you right away.
"But if you can ease into a movie and give it some time to work on you, sometimes the rewards are fantastic. Like taking a chance on a second date, only to find out the person is way more interesting than they initially seemed.
Poetry-on-Demand raises money, delights participants
Many guild events have a Poetry-on-Demand table. For a donation, people tell a poet something to write (a love poem, a poem about the sky, etc.). In about 20 minutes the donator receives a poem, typed on card stock with a manual typewriter, in its own envelope. They also hear it read by the poet.
Getting involved with the guild is easy
Diversity, in members and in topics, ranks high on the guild's priorities list.
People can start by coming to open mics, where anyone can read for five minutes; all events are open to the public. The series coordinator keeps lists of people they'd like to invite, based on hearing them read at open mics or other venues.
The guild encourages artists, as well as organizations, from genres other than writing, to let them know about possible collaborative projects. They often co-produce events and welcome interaction.
A guild poet explains
Poet and scholar Hiromi Yoshida, a specialist in rare books and manuscripts librarianship, explained how this concentration has led her to some exciting job interviews, most notably, with the Huntington Library. The Huntington comprises the library, with more than 430,000 rare books; the art gallery; and the renowned botanical gardens, with more than 150,000 plant types.
"It has also inspired me to write poems about my Sylvia Plath exhibition curation experience at the Lilly Library. Examples are “Realia” and “Paper Doll.” The Lilly Library, on Indiana University's campus, is a significant rare book and manuscript library in the U.S. At its 1960 dedication it held a collection of 20,000 books, 17,000 manuscripts, more than 50 oil paintings and 300 prints.
Yoshida is the guild's diversity consultant and coordinates the Last Sunday Poetry and Open Mic monthly program. She introduced a diversity clause for inclusion in the guild’s mission statement and also curated the 2021 and 2022 Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month celebration editions of the guild’s First Wednesday Spoken Word series. As a literary arts representative, she serves as liaison between the guild and the Arts Alliance of Greater Bloomington.
How does poetry affect a poet's daily life?
As Yoshida cooks in her apartment, she recites or reads poetry out loud every night. One genre that appeals to her is the chapbook, which is brief and compact, enabling poetry to be portable.
"So far, my favorite chapbooks are Allen Ginsberg’s "Howl"and Gregory Corso’s 'Gasoline.'"
She's not a folklorist but said she's intrigued by classical myths and fairy tales, as discernible in her own poems.
Her poems ironize myth, particularly the fall of Icarus, whom she has "reconceived as a poststructuralist signifier of fluctuating desire and meaning."
Guild's scholarship
The guild offers the Ryser Scholarship to people who would like to attend classes at the Indiana Writers Conference in Bloomington, and they have given financial support to people wishing to attend other conferences. The scholarship works on a rotating basis: One year it goes to a secondary school student, one year to a secondary school writing teacher, and one year to a Writers Guild member. For more information about the scholarship, visit https://writersguildbloomington.com.
If you go
WHAT: Writers Guild at Bloomington's and Morgenstern's Books presents "Poetry Marathon, an All Day Event"
WHEN: 8:30 a.m.-8 p.m., April 1. Open mic is at end of the day.WHERE: Morgenstern's Bookstore and Cafe, 849 S. Auto Mall Road
MORE INFO: The event is free. Email the Writers Guild of Bloomington at contact@writersguildbloomington.com. Find Yoshida's "Icarus Superstar" at goodreads.com/book/show/111018225-icarus-superstar. For more about the event, contact Morgenstern's at 812-676-7323 or go online to www.morgensternbooks.com/.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Plethora of poets to participate in Bloomington marathon event
