This class will use at contemporary examples of poems written by mothers on motherhood, such as Olena Kalytiak Davis, Ananda Lima, Tracy K. Smith, and an example poem from the instructor’s own work. Topics for discussion include what these poets have to say about the experience of mothering, their use of imagery and other formal devices, and the way the role of speaker is enacted in each poem.
Before class, you'll receive copies of the assigned poems and related writing prompts along with an invitation to produce one original poem to workshop with our group. While writing a poem in advance of class is not required, we will use about half of the class to discuss our insights when reading the assigned model poems, and half to workshop our own motherhood poems.
Note: On Saturday, May 11, Erin Hoover will do a Birthing the Book event at The Porch to discuss the process and publication of her book, No Spare People. Be sure to register for this under the Happenings page!
Mythic and symbolic mothers have long inspired poetry, but what if we considered motherhood itself as a space for linguistic innovation? What if we wrote about motherhood from this perspective?
Erin Hoover is the author of Barnburner (Elixir, 2018) and No Spare People (Black Lawrence, 2023). Her poems have appeared in The Best American Poetry among other anthologies and recently in Northwest Review, Prairie Schooner, and The Sun. An assistant professor at Tennessee Tech University, she teaches poetry and advises students in the university's new Editing and Publishing Certificate program. She curates and hosts a monthly, in-person reading series, Sawmill Poetry. Hoover lives in Tennessee with her family. Visit her online at erinhooverpoet.com.
Erin is new to The Porch. Welcome!
