Poetry of the body

The Split This Rock 2016 poetry festival is coming up soon! I’m so excited to be speaking on a panel about the body and poetry with lovely writers Leeya Mehta, Sarah Sansolo, and Tyler Vile.

We’ll be discussing body image, the body through the female experience and through the disabled experience. How and why do we write poetry about our bodies? What does it mean to have a different body? For those of us whose bodies don’t conform to the ones we see saturated in the media, how can we take back our bodies and write about them? Come explore how poetry can channel the physical body in our panel discussion.

If you’re considering attending the festival, wondering if it’s worth it, let me tell you without a doubt: absolutely, yes. And that is not just because I’m a panelist this year.

I’ve been attending the Split This Rock festival for three years now, starting when I was still in university. It is one of the most comprehensive, welcoming, diverse poetry festivals I’ve ever witnessed. People from all over the country and world attend, give readings, speak on panels, sell their books, and participate in open mics. It’s truly a special place to meet writers from all over the world.

If you’ll be attending the festival, consider coming to my panel called Physical Bodies and Poetic Bones, moderated by Diana Bolton, founding editor of District Lit.

Registration for the festival ends March 31, so you still have time. Hope to see you there, if not at my panel, at the many other fabulous events!