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Join us for a five session evening writing workshop with UNH MFA graduate Theresa Monteiro.

This workshop will explore how the human person appears (and does not appear) in poetry and how the figures in our own poems move between poet and reader.

ABOUT THE WORKSHOP

As a uniquely human experience, many of us turn to poetry in times of joy, loneliness, anger, and grief. But what about the people who appear in poems? How do we image the human body in poetry, use the voice to convey tone, or incorporate multiple voices in a poem? How do we think about the poem as an address to another human, or to the world, or even to the self? Can a poem create communion between persons? This workshop will explore how the human person appears (and does not appear) in poetry and how the figures in our own poems move between poet and reader.

Each session will begin with a short discussion of poems by contemporary and historical poets. We’ll pose questions such as, Does imagery of the body objectify the body? Is the use of the first- person plural “we” presumptuous? Can a poem without bodies be about the person? The hope is that these discussions and poems will influence and help generate new drafts for the participants to bring to workshop. However, this should be seen as an opportunity and not a limitation; poems about dogs are welcome.

Each session will include ample time for workshop. Participants will be asked to come to the session prepared with commentary on the work of the other poets in the session. No level of previous experience is required.

ABOUT THERESA MONTEIRO

Theresa lives in New Hampshire with her husband and six children. She is a former high school teacher who now works as a private tutor through an online platform. She holds an MFA from the University of New Hampshire. She has had poems published in various magazines and journals including The American Journal of Poetry, On the Seawall, River Heron Review,

Pittsburgh Poetry Journal, Presence, Cutleaf Journal, and The Banyan Review. Her first full-length manuscript was chosen as a finalist for the Jake Adam York Prize by Copper Nickel Press in 2022 and she was recently nominated for a Pushcart Prize.