The Poetics of Uncertainty and Journey to Wisdom
RESCHEDULED for May 5, 2016 in Pittsfield, MA with Jacqueline Gens
Unitarian Church175 Wendell Ave, Pittsfield, MA
6:00 PM For further information call: 413-358-2626 or 508-237-4252
Poetrymind universally has a long tradition of ‘unknowing’ in the sense of thriving within the ground of uncertainty or what poet Fannie Howe calls, “Bewilderment”. The aim here is to write from a non-conceptual and non-judgemental point of view trusting in the authenticity of one’s pure perception leading to an elegant syntax in poetry. The late poet Allen Ginsberg called this "First Thought, Best Thought". In this discussion and Lecture we will examine how such an approach furthers our writing as an act of discovery through looking at noted poems and simple exercises. Open to both beginners and advanced writers.
Jacqueline Gens worked with poets for over thirty years. She was a co-founder of the New England College MFA program in Creative Writing and its co-director for over a decade. For many years she worked for the late poet Allen Ginsberg in NYC and the Naropa Institute. Currently she lives in Shelburne Falls, MA where she is retired and spends time at the Khandroling Paper Cooperative she founded to recycle sacred texts in the Buddhist tradition into calligraphy papers and other uses. To read more about her writing groups and work, visit her blog Poetrymind at www.tsetso.blogspot.
