Panel Discussion at the AWP Conference
Feb
9
10:35 AM10:35

Panel Discussion at the AWP Conference

As part of the annual AWP (Association of Writers and Writing Programs) conference, Robin Beth Schaer will take part in the panel discussion “Pollen, Rust, Lakes, & Plains: Writing Poems in the Midwest” with Caryl Pagel, Zach Savich, and Nick Gulig. This panel of Midwest poets will consider what forms—ode, mess, palimpsest, somatic, plein air—might best connect a region’s particulars to global transformation. How can poetry account for the material conditions of the environment, tethering regional circumstances to questions of conservation, extinction, or the nonhuman? Poets will share experiences of writing their region and useful place-based prompts, texts, or fieldwork for landscapes that combine the urban, industrial, and agricultural.

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Sumud: A Night of Palestinian Poetry
Jan
13
6:30 PM18:30

Sumud: A Night of Palestinian Poetry

The theme of the night is Sumud, or steadfastness in Arabic. Palestinian poetry will be shared by the writers themselves or allies & friends. Readers include: Philip Metres, Samer Badawi, Robin Beth Schaer, Thaer Husien, Danny Caine, Khadeja Najjar, Shereen Naser & Elliot Jarrous, Naazneen Diwan, Leila Khoury & more. Sponsored by OPAWL, JVP, and The Posterity Alliance.

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Inkubator Writing Conference
Sep
23
1:30 PM13:30

Inkubator Writing Conference

  • Cleveland Public Library-Louis Stokes Wing (map)
  • Google Calendar ICS

The Inkubator is Literary Cleveland’s free annual festival for writers. The festival runs from September 18 - 23 and offers participants a chance to generate new writing, improve craft, and advance careers. The in-person conference at the Cleveland Public Library features writing workshops, panel discussions, craft talks, teen writing programs, a book fair, breakout social spaces, and an afterparty reading and celebration. Register now.

Panel Discussion: Bees, Rocks, Heat, & Garbage: Poetry and the Outside World with Jason Harris, Caryl Pagel, Zach Savich, Robin Beth Schaer, and Lindsay Turner

How can poetry account for the material, daily, or commonplace conditions of the environment in which one lives? How might poetry tether specific ecological conditions or observations to larger questions of choice, worry, weather, community, conservation, extinction, or the nonhuman? This panel will consider what forms and strategies—ode, mess, palimpsest, instruction, somatic, en plein air, fragment, etc.—might serve as useful tools for poets desiring to write about the particulars of place and environmental transformation. We’ll leave you with a list of recommended reading and strategies for composing embodied or in-the-world poems of your own.

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Leaning Toward Light
Sep
9
2:00 PM14:00

Leaning Toward Light

Mac's Backs and the Coventry Library will host Tess Taylor, editor of Leaning Toward Light: Poems for Gardens and the Hands That Tend Them on Saturday, September 9th at 2 pm in Peace Park at the corner of Coventry and Euclid Heights Blvd. Tess will be joined by poet Robin Beth Schaer.

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Cleveland Poetry Festival
Apr
22
10:00 AM10:00

Cleveland Poetry Festival

Organized by Literary Cleveland, CSU Poetry Center, CWRU’s Writers House, and grieveland, the festival featuring poets living and working in Northeast Ohio. This festival is a celebration of poetry, creativity, and community, designed to help participants envision new work, advance craft, and get published. This event is sponsored by Mac's Backs Books and University Circle Inc. Register online.

Robin Beth Schaer will lead a workshop on revision from 4 - 5:30 pm. In this generative workshop, participants will discuss revision techniques and examine common obstacles that interrupt the drafting process. Using a series of exercises, participants will experiment with ways to reimagine drafts, expand ideas, deepen imagery, explore emotion, and discover new possibilities. All participants should bring an early poem draft and be prepared to crack it open and see it anew during class.

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Panel Discussion at the Association of Writers and Writing Programs Conference
Mar
8
to Mar 11

Panel Discussion at the Association of Writers and Writing Programs Conference

  • Seattle Convention Center (map)
  • Google Calendar ICS

As part of the Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP) annual conference, Robin Beth Schaer will take part in a panel discussion entitled “Stealing Time: On Purpose, Permission, and Putting Writing First.” The other panelists include Miciah Bay Gault, Ukamaka Olisakwe, Crystal Wilkinson, and Connie May Fowler.

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Literary Cleveland Writing Workshop
Jul
5
to Aug 23

Literary Cleveland Writing Workshop

Advanced Essay Writing: The Braided Essay

Some stories don’t follow a straight line, but instead run down many overlapping paths. Tangled and complicated like our actual lives, the braided essay twists together strands into a complex weave bound by reverberations and association. The meandering form allows for digressions and interruptions that are especially useful when writing through difficult or painful material.

In this eight-week course, students will read through contemporary examples of braided essays and discuss their meaning, construction, and mechanics. Though a series of weekly writing exercises and peer workshops, students will be guided through the process of building their own braided essays that incorporate personal narratives, research, criticism, and other material.

Workshop is taught on behalf of Literary Cleveland

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