10am-2pm, 17 May

K?piti Coast

Good political poems are nearly as hard to write as a love poem, but passion fuels them both. An increasing disparity between rich and poor, revived racist agendas, a re-definition of torture, seemingly ineradicable war, violence toward immigrants and a discounting of art and culture has created a need for poets to speak out. We’ll look at a selection of poetry from Shelley to Lola Ridge, Adrienne Rich to Tusiata Avia to LaTasha Nevada Diggs, in English and in translation, to discover what makes a political poem powerful. We’ll also discuss the difference between sympathetic voyeurism and empathy with regard to situations far from our doors. Most importantly, we’ll talk about silence and self-censorship, their devastating effects on the integrity of art. Participants will write new material from exercises and we’ll discuss the results. Limited to 12 participants. Find out more at http://kahini.org/burn-notice/