All the News: How Poetry Addresses the Headlines

Poetry has always addressed social issues and currents in history. Yet, some would argue that "real" poetry should be timeless and avoid the vagaries of current events. We will entertain that concern in addition to the question of poems that are artful versus rants as we discuss a variety of poems on topics ranging from war to climate change to racial injustice and reproductive justice. Prompts will be offered as take-home exercises for those who would like to try their own hand at writing poetry for our times.

Pamela Wax is the author of the full-length poetry collection, Walking the Labyrinth (Main Street Rag Publishing, 2022) and the forthcoming chapbook, Starter Mothers (Finishing Line Press). Her poems have received awards from Crosswinds Poetry Journal, Paterson Literary Review, Oberon Poetry Magazine and the Robinson Jeffers Tor House and have been published in many other journals. Pam is an ordained rabbi who ran a spiritual healing center for 19 years in White Plains, NY. During the pandemic, she settled full-time in North Adams, in what had been her second home. Pam facilitates poetry writing workshops on many different topics, including a weekly spiritual poetry writing workshop.