Forms & Features Online with Megan Fernandes

In this seminar, we discuss the philosophies and techniques of "flow" in poetry through a variety of historical and critical contexts including Islamic mysticism, the Black Arts movement, contemporary hip hop, the New York School, and Pacific Islander poetry. Participants will discuss and experiment with prompts that focus on pace, breathwork, vocal delivery, voltas, syllabic accentuation, pause, enjambment, etc. In addition, we will discuss what are the political aspects of "flow" in our contemporary culture. Who has access to breath and who doesn't? How is our flow of consciousness shaped by our digital lives? What kind do certain obsessive patterns of thought tell us about how our own flow is constructed? What does it mean to "go with the flow" and maybe more importantly, what does it mean to move against it?

Megan Fernandes is a South Asian American writer living in New York City. She earned a PhD in English from the University of California, Santa Barbara and an MFA in poetry from Boston University. Her second book of poetry, Good Boys (Tin House Books, 2020), was a finalist for the Kundiman Book Prize and the Saturnalia Book Prize. Fernandes is an assistant professor of English and the writer-in-residence at Lafayette College, where she teaches courses on poetry and environmental writing. Megan is a book reviewer for Harriet Books.

This program is currently at capacity, and registration is now closed.