The University of Idaho Women’s hosted a poetry workshop ran by Stacy Boe Miller, a third-year MFA candidate, Tuesday evening.
The event ran from 5:30 p.m. until 7:30 p.m., where students and faculty came to learn how to discover oneself through poetry.
Miller introduced herself and spoke about the writing workshop she attended in New York City this past summer by an organization called Winter Tangerine.
With help from the Women’s Center, Miller wanted to host a workshop to share what she learned in New York City to anyone interested in expressing themselves through poetry.
“This workshop is specifically looking at ways to use things that society, up-bringing, or cultural expectations told you not to use, but to take those, heighten them, and make those the center of your writing,” Miller said.
Every participant listened to other poet’s writing, specifically queer individuals and people of color, learning how they took their own hardships and turned it into poetry.
Everyone was given a packet of poetry, as well as a list of craft elements and poetry prompts to help them begin creating their own poetry.
“The point of this workshop is that each writer can write their truth and find the ideas that fit what they are wanting to share,” Miller said.
During the last half hour of the workshop, the participants were asked to write a few lines of poetry themselves, taking what they had learned and to find their truth.
No one was obligated to share during the discussion time, but many did. There were laughs, tears, and a lot of finger snaps, as people shared their truths.
A’maurie Duckwitz was one of the participants at the workshop.
“I thought it was really cool to see how other people express their thought and emotions, I think that writing is a really personal thing that shows an inner reflection that you don’t get from everyday conversation,” Duckwitz said.
Organizers emphasized that the workshop was an open space for writers to express themselves.
“This was a safe space where people could be vulnerable with that or even if they couldn’t say something themselves they could still feel something from what other people were saying,” Duckwitz said. “It was a unique experience and I don’t get to see that that often.”
Miller urged the writers at the workshop to reach out to her if they have any more questions about poetry or if they want their own poetry to be workshopped by herself.
“One thing about tonight is that it creates a sense of community. They are welcome to email me or the Women’s Center is a safe space for this kind of thing too and is a place on campus to visit, write, and gain feedback from others interested in the same work,” Miller said. Writers were also urged to submit work to ‘F-Word Live,’ a spoken event hosted by the Women’s Center Nov. 2. Submissions are due by 5 p.m. Oct. 19.
Clyde McCaw can be reached at [email protected]