Winter Virtual Poetry Intensive: Counterculture Poetics

Date & Time:

Wednesdays

6:30 PM EST - 8:30 PM EST

January 1 - February 5, 2025

Course Description:

“When we are bold in vision, when we offer up our most broken and honest selves, poetry becomes a force for liberation, a place where the radical imagination can roam free.” — Claudia Rankine

In periods of political upheaval and cultural unrest, poetry emerges as a vital site of resistance—a countercultural powerhouse capable of confronting and challenging societal conventions and systemic inequities. Counterculture Poetics is a six-week intensive designed for poets, poetry-lovers, poets-to-be, punks, zine-makers, mystical anarchists, anti-establishment artists, cultural critics, nonconformists, community organizers, iconoclasts, seekers of alternative futures, and definitely anyone who has ever seriously considered getting a Howl tattoo. Guided by poet and PSNY Programs Director Tova Greene, this course is an invitation to tap into the radical potential of poetry!

Over the course of six weeks, we'll do a deep dive into the lineage of post-1950s American countercultural poetics, from the unapologetic free verse of the Beat Generation, to the revolutionary urgency of the Black Arts Movement, to the raw, DIY ethos of punk poetry. We'll examine the work of artists who defined America's countercultural poetic landscape, such as Diane di Prima, Amiri Baraka, and Patti Smith, and unpack how they used voice, form, and content to subvert dominant power structures. Through close readings, critical discussions, and hands-on writing exercises, we'll dismantle the “rules” of poetry and instead experiment with hybrid poetics, testing the elasticity of form. By the end of our time together, you’ll have both a body of new work and a deeper understanding of how your writing can act as a tool for creative and political resistance.

Who Should Attend: This course is for anyone at any stop along their poetry journey! As long as you're interested in exploring the radical potential of poetry, you'll fit right in. Whether you’re new to writing or a seasoned poet looking to expand your practice, Counterculture Poetics offers a space for risk-taking, rule-breaking, and reimagining what poetry can do.

Course Schedule:

• Week 1: Introduction to Counterculture Poetics
• Week 2: The Beat Generation: Rebellion Through Form and Voice
• Week 3: The Black Arts Movement: Poetry as Political Power
• Week 4: Punk Poetics: The Spirit of DIY and Anti-Establishment Writing
• Week 5: Contemporary Counterculture Voices: Breaking the Binary
• Week 6: Poetry as Protest and Performance

Registration: Spaces are limited! Reserve your spot now!

About the Instructor:

Tova Greene (they/them) is a Brooklyn-based producer and poet-person. If you've been to a PSNY event, they probably produced it; as Programs Director of The Poetry Society of New York, Creative Director of The New York City Poetry Festival, and Editorial Director of Milk Press, they create immersive spaces that prioritize collaboration and artistic experimentation. They see producing as an act of radical reclamation: an exercise in reimagining what art can be when freed from capitalist exploitation and allowed to flourish in an environment of accessibility and care. Their events have garnered acclaim from outlets including The New York Times and Observer. A graduate of Sarah Lawrence College, their written work is informed by ancient and contemporary poetics, dramatic literature, and anti-establishment ideologies, and has been featured in Eunoia Review, Midway Journal, West Trade Review, and other publications. Their debut collection, lilac on the damned's breath (Bottlecap Press, 2022), grapples with the cyclical nature of grief. On any given day, they can be found reading in Prospect Park or watching terrible reality TV with their two cats, Sookie Stackhouse and BoJack Horseman.

Host or Publisher The Poetry Society of New York