Erasures, Fragments, and Fractures: Exploring Silence in Poetry

The unsaid, the inarticulate, the waiting. In this class, we will explore the paradoxical question of how language can spring from silence, and how we can use silence both conceptually and linguistically in poems to convey voids: the absent, the unspeakable.

This class will center on the work of three poets: Alejandra Pizarnik, Dunya Mikhail, and Marie Howe, particularly her concept of a poem’s “unsayable center."

We will begin class with journaled reflections on our own personal and cultural relationships to silence, with the option to keep these writings private, and do some exercises based in figurative language. We’ll use these written drafts as starting points for more visually experimental exercises: fracturing and fragmenting language, isolating individual words, erasing or blacking out words, and playing with negative space. 

Class Format

This class will take place using Zoom videoconferencing. About 15 minutes before your class is scheduled to begin, you'll receive an email from your instructor with a link to join the class meeting!

Scholarship Information

Thanks to the excellent literary citizenship of our donors, scholarships are available for all GrubStreet classes. To apply, click the gray "APPLY FOR SCHOLARSHIP" button. In order to be considered for a scholarship, you must complete your application at least one week before the start date of a class. Please await our scholarship committee's decision before registering for the class. We cannot hold spots in classes, so the sooner you apply, the better. Scholarships cannot be applied retroactively.

For more detailed information about GrubStreet scholarships, including how to contribute to scholarship funds for other students, click here.