Crafting Poetry that Moves with Michael Datcher

The Emotional Power of Imagery & Lyricism. This craft workshop will interrogate the ways in which unexpected imagery and supple lyricism can create poetry that moves readers in a visceral way. The workshop includes in-workshop exercises rooted in the creation of interesting metaphors, similes and other visual markers—while also incorporating sly assonance and alliteration to enhance the poem's musicality. The workshop will result in at least one strong draft of a poem which the poets will present at the end-of-workshop reading.

Dr. Michael Datcher did his undergraduate work at UC Berkeley, his Masters at UCLA and his Ph.D. at UC Riverside in English Literature. He is the author of the Ferguson-area historical novel AMERICUS (Third Is World Press) and the critically-acclaimed New York Times Bestseller RAISING FENCES (Penguin Putnam/Riverhead)—a TODAY SHOW BOOK CLUB Book of the Month pick. The film rights were originally optioned by actor Will Smith’s Overbrook Productions, who hired Datcher to write the screenplay. Datcher has made many other media appearances including OPRAH. Datcher is also the author of the award-winning children’s book HARLEM AT FOUR (Random House Studio) and the Pulitzer Prize- nominated book of literary theory ANIMATING BLACK AND BROWN LIBERATION: A Theory of American Literatures (State University of New York Press). He is co-editor of TOUGH LOVE: The Life and Death of Tupac Shakur. Datcher’s play SILENCE was commissioned by and premiered at the Getty Museum. His writing is widely anthologized, including appearances in the volumes What Makes A Man (Penguin), Brown Sugar 3 (Simon Schuster), Soulfires (Penguin), Testimony (Beacon Press), Another City (City Lights), and Body and Soul (Crown), among others. He has curated and/or presented his work at the Brooklyn Museum of Art, Museum of Contemporary Art, The Hammer Museum and other art institutions. Datcher is the President of the Board of Directors at The World Stage, a literary and jazz education and performance 501.C3 nonprofit in Los Angeles’ Crenshaw District. Dr. Datcher is an Associate Clinical Professor of Writing at New York University.

Ticket purchase is required. Tickets will be available at the Beyond Baroque bookstore on the day of the event, but we recommend registering in advance through Eventbrite. Masks are encouraged while inside our center.

Event attendees are expected to behave in a respectful and considerate manner while in our space. Beyond Baroque reserves the right to remove individuals from our events, virtual or otherwise, if they are not respecting the space, staff, fellow attendees, or performers.

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