ModPo update for 11/1/2019: 1) SloPo; 2) Final Words; 3) Kelly Writers House New York event; 4) week 9

Hello and greetings from the Kelly Writers House on this Friday of week 8 of ModPo 2019!

SloPo

Two more weeks left of what we call “the symposium mode” of ModPo for this year! After that we will move into what ModPo people have taken to calling “SloPo.” We will be offering several SloPo discussion groups. The first of these will be led by me—about a small selection of poems by Wallace Stevens. It will begin on December 2. If you would like to participate in that, send a message to Lily at whbook@writing.upenn.edu .

Final Words webcast

On the final day of ModPo 2019’s 10-week run, we will host a special extra (11th) live webcast. This is a ModPo tradition We call it the “Final Words” webcast. You can of course join from anywhere in the world, but we also host a gathering of ModPo people at the Writers House in Philly. If you are in Philly or nearby, please plan to join us starting at 10:30 AM on Monday, November 18, at 3805 Locust Walk. We will be serving lots and lots of yummy pizza after the webcast is finished—a ModPo party! If you think you can come to the Final Words webcast—which is to say, if you think you can be there with us in person—please email us at modpo@writing.upenn.edu.

“Writers House New York” event at Meisel Gallery in SoHo on November 12

The Kelly Writers House hosts an annual event at Meisel Gallery on Prince Street in SoHo, Manhattan, NY. This year that event will happen on Tuesday, November 12, starting at 6:30 PM. The event will feature 4 Writers House-affiliated writers performing their work, each briefly, and it will end with a collaborative close reading of a ModPo poem, led by me. One of our readers this year will be ModPo’s own brilliant Amber Rose Johnson! We invite any and all ModPo people to join us! See below for more info.

Morgan Library webcast

This week’s webcast, held at the Morgan Library, is now available as a recording—along with all the other 2019 weekly webcast recordings—at ModPo’s YouTube channel.

essays

There are just a few essays, recently posted, that have not yet received at least four comments or responses. Please go HERE, look for an essay that interests you, read it and comment!

week 9 coming up

On Sunday we begin week 9, which is about “aleatory” or chance-based poetry (or quasi-nonintentional poetry). If you are new to this idea, it will perhaps sound whacky and not worth your while. But I hope you will try it out. Many people, who are turned off at first, soon embrace the idea as somewhat liberating from the stuckness of the writerly ego. Feeling in a rut as a writer or reader? Well, try week 9! I think my audio intro to week 9 is particularly helpful, if I may say so! Have a listen HERE.

With my very best wishes,

—Al

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INVITATION TO “WRITERS HOUSE NEW YORK” ON NOVEMBER 12TH

Friends and gallery owners Susan and Louis Meisel will host a cocktail reception, followed by a Writers House evening as students, alums, faculty, and friends read original works of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. As always, this event directly supports our student recruitment efforts.  Tuesday, November 12th, 2019 6:30  PM Meisel Gallery, 141 Prince St, New York, NY 10012  This is an intimate event in an intimate space, so seating is strictly limited.  To reserve your place today, please write rsvp@writing.upenn.edu or call us at 215-573-9748.   This year’s readers are: our Craven Writer in Residence in the Center for Programs in Contemporary Writing, Weike Wang; doctoral candidate in English & Africana Studies, and Fulbright Scholar, Amber Rose Johnson (G’20); Penn Review editor-in-chief and Writers House regular Daniel Finkel (C’20); and former 34th Street editor-in-chief and now NYC-based writer, Nina Wolpow(C’14). Finally, I will lead us in a collective collaborative close reading of a short poem.   Your attendance at this event will directly support our efforts to connect with exceptional high school student writers around the country. We want to show them — particularly those who believe Penn is beyond their reach financially, geographically, or otherwise — that we care about supporting creative students through the application process, once they arrive on campus, and after they graduate. Our Associate Director for Recruitment, Jamie-Lee Josselyn (C’05), works tirelessly toward these goals.   The suggested $20 per person cost is a tax-deductible contribution to the University of Pennsylvania’s Kelly Writers House Student Recruitment Fund – you can donate in advance at the link below or donate at the door. We hope to see you on November 12th! You can always donate directly to the KWH Student Recruitment Fund:   https://giving.apps.upenn.edu/fund?program=KWH&fund=602786 Looking forward to seeing you there!