Power Poetry


Announcing a class in Power Poetry



What is "Power Poetry?" 

First, it is any poetry the comes from deep in the heart or soul meant to have more than a personal impact. Power Poetry is daring to write from one's greatest gifts, conviction, no matter the opposition, social consequences. To write such poetry takes courage and a willingness to weather rejection repeatedly and never quit.



Second, Power Poetry can and should involve Orpheus Work, meaning a willingness to dive deep into the Underworld to bring up those parts of us that have been lost or repressed in the current culture. There is nothing complicated in Orpheus Work, simply recognizing what it is all that's important. It may mean naming a place, a real world place in your personal landscape, The Underworld, repeatedly visiting it and bringing up Eurydice, or Wide Justice, in your dreams.



This means reclaiming dreaming and creating a conscious construct or model to study world myths like Genesis, Orpheus and Eurydice, or Dante. It means naming your local world so it can be used in dreaming to explore myths, akashic (according to the Sanskrit definition everything, including Genesis, is recored in the akasha, the subtle memory matter of the universe) records, religion or science, and mostly it means "publishing in reality," not in increasingly sparse anthologies or zines. Methods to do this will be part of the class. It means co-creating the world, the true role of the poet, artist.



It is my (Wabigoon's) hope I can begin to teach these topics.

Here is an enthusiastic recommendation:
"The first years I spent on Fanstory were devoted to understanding the technical aspects of poetry, such as rhythm and rhyme. Since I started working with Wabigoon/Jeff, my poetic voice has found a strength I never knew before, one that exists beyond a poetic form or metaphor. This discovery of my inner power through writing has been not only therapeutic but empowering in all aspects of life. It is not an easy process and not for the faint of conviction, but the result is I am a stronger person and writer for it. There is much more to writing than words on a page or patterned speech. I've learned that writing is a force for change and discovery."
Catch 22



I have a Master's Degree in Fine Arts from the University of Wisconsin, Superior. I have published poems in The Wisconsin Academy Review, Kansas Quarterly, San Jose Studies, Magical Blend and many other places. I have published stories in Grue, Death Realm, Eotu, etc. I have published essays in Colorado Quarterly and Dream Network Journal, etc. I have two published books, Treasures from the From the Beginning of the World, (poetry) from Savage Press in Superior, WI and Knowing the Dark (Dream essays) from Think for Yourself Press (out of print). 

I am a five time winner of the Lake Superior Writers' Award for Poetry and have had my winning entries published in the Duluth/Superior Symphony Orchestra program.

I have taught poetry in the Adult Education Program in Duluth and dream interpretation in Duluth and at the Rainbow Revolution Bookstore in La Crosse, Wisconsin.



I urge you to join me in bringing power back to the arts, all of them.



Thanks 
Wabigoon/Jeff

I don't intend to work by weeks or assignments. I will encourage
students to keep a dream journal for the duration of the class (3 months?). I will encourage them to write the first drafts of any new poetry in that journal. I will want them to create an "illuminated dream construct" meaning I want them to name portions of their local landscape with gods, myths, realities, political, metaphysical and otherwise they wish to study in their dreams. The creation of such a construct will make knowing what they are dreaming about easier. I want them to have a particular myth, sacred or other place in that construct and to visit it repeatedly and "raise" dreams (Eurydice) from it that can be noted in their notebooks and then in poems. As instructor I will expect to see some of the journal excepts as well as poems that are to include material derived from the dreams or the construct. We will then try to make, publish this power work in the reality of the students.


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