Kalamazoo Poetry Festival Call for Workshop Proposals

The Kalamazoo Poetry Festival (KPF) invites poets, artists, educators, and poetry enthusiasts from the general Kalamazoo area to submit workshop proposals for the 8th Annual Kalamazoo Poetry Festival! Workshop leaders will conduct a variety of one-hour workshops related to reading, writing, and
performing poetry.

Workshop sessions during the Festival are free and open to the public. We intend to offer both virtual and in-person workshops, depending on COVID conditions. Please indicate your preference for an in-person or virtual workshop on the submission form.

The Kalamazoo Poetry Festival believes in compensating artists as much and as often as possible. For this reason, workshop leaders will receive a $200 honorarium. KPF will publicize and manage registration for each workshop.

The theme of our 2021 Festival is “From the Wreckage.” We are looking for YOUR creative ideas that would appeal to a range of ages and levels of experience with poetry. In thinking about a potential workshop, consider the following questions and examples for inspiration:

• What has 2020 wrecked in you? What does recovery look like in the context of constant sorrow? Is it possible? 
• How do writers, artists, and performers create amidst continued violence and uncertainty?
  • Have our writing practices changed?
  • Have the subjects of our writing changed? If so, how?
  • Do you feel responsibility as a writer to reflect the times?
  • Have you stopped writing completely? Are you looking for a path back to writing?
• An interactive arts workshop where participants reflect upon the aesthetic possibilities of what rises up from wreckage.
• A performance workshop that helps participants develop their artistic persona in both language and body as a form of creative regeneration.
• A writing workshop where participants recreate moments of wreckage through erasure poetry.

Proposing a workshop is easy! Simply fill out the online form on our website.

The deadline for all proposals is January 1, 2020.