Repetition & Anaphora: A Poetry Workshop with Cassidy McFadzean

Join Cassidy McFadzean at Flying Books at Neverland this autumn for a poetry workshop focussing on repetition and anaphora.

Ticket price includes:

• A two-hour workshop (with break) from acclaimed poet Cassidy McFadzean
• A glass of wine (or non-alcoholic beverage) to enjoy during the workshop
• A $20 book credit, usable for that night only

Workshop

There is no such thing as repetition. Only insistence.

Gertrude Stein
Join Flying Books mentor Cassidy McFadzean for a poetry workshop on the generative possibilities of repetition in poetry to access the subconscious, trouble over ideas, and insist upon a memory, feeling, or place. From the incantatory and meditative poems of Joanna Klink and Emily Skillings to Diane Khoi Nguyen’s “Grief Logic,” and Rasha Abdulhadi’s litanies for Palestine, this class will uncover methods of writing poetry using anaphora, lists, and refrain. In addition to discussion of the above readings, paying particular attention to how each poem establishes a given pattern— and in some cases, breaks it—we’ll have time for 2-3 in-class exercises and additional prompts to take home. Participants should bring a notebook and something to write with.

Instructor

Cassidy McFadzean is the author of three books of poetry: Crying Dress (House of Anansi, 2024), Drolleries (McClelland & Stewart 2019), shortlisted for the Raymond Souster Award, and Hacker Packer (M&S 2015), winner of two Saskatchewan Book Awards and finalist for the Gerald Lampert Award. Her fiction has appeared in Joyland, The Walrus, Hazlitt, and Dead Writers (Invisible Publishing, 2025). Her chapbook Third State of Being (Gaspereau Press 2022) was a finalist for the bpNichol Chapbook Award. Cassidy was born in Regina, earned an MFA in poetry from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, an MFA in fiction from Brooklyn College, and now lives in Toronto.

Important information:

Ticket price includes HST and Eventbrite fee.

Due to our limited space, tickets are only refundable up to 7 days before the event.

The book credit is only available on the night of the event and is non-refundable and non-transferrable.

Attendees must be 19+

We look forward to seeing you!

Host or Publisher Flying Books @ Neverland