Author/Artist Cindy Hunter Morgan kicks off the Summer Writers Program at Hessel School House

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Hessel School House is honored to kick off their summer writers program the last week of June with a five day long exploration of short form writing (poetry, compression and class nonfiction) and a variety of book arts with noted author, artist and educator Cindy Hunter Morgan.

Cindy is the author of Far Company (Wayne State University Press, May 2022) and Harborless (Wayne State University Press), which was a 2018 Michigan Notable Book and the winner of the 2017 Moveen Prize in Poetry. She also is the author of two chapbooks, Apple Season (Midwest Writing Center Chapbook Award, 2012) and The Sultan, The Skater, The Bicycle Maker (Ledge Press Chapbook Award, 2011). She has taught poetry, creative writing, and book arts at Michigan State University for several years and now heads up communications for Michigan State University Libraries. She is a co-founder of the MSU Filmetry Festival, an annual event showcasing short films adapted from poems, and she leads various poetry workshops and book arts workshops.

Cindy will offer the following two-hour workshops at the Hessel School House from June 26 – 30. 

Monday, June 26 from 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. will feature “The Art of Erasure”. In this workshop, Cindy will look to a fusion of visual art and poetry to begin to think – and see – like poets. Using found pages of text (supplied), participants will create their own erasures and leave with their own visual art – and their own poems. 

Tuesday, June 27 from 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. will feature “History and Word Play: Mixing the Previously Unmixed to Cook New Poems.”Participants will explore two magic elements in poetry — history and word play – and experiment with them to write their own poems.

Wednesday, June 28 from 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. will feature “The Art of the Letter”. In this workshop Cindy will read examples of the epistle – poems written as letters to others – and then participants will write their own letter poems or letter prose poems. The epistle allows a writer to engage in something that feels like a private exchange. The result can be delightful for both writer and reader. When we read them we feel like we’re eavesdropping.

Thursday, June 29 from 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Cindy will share the art of “Carving & Block Printing.” Cindy will teach participants how to carve their own stamps for block printing. All materials will be supplied. 

Thursday, June 29 from 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. During “Compression & Intensity: Short Story Prose” Cindy will read some powerful and delightful examples of very short prose, and explore what a vessel the size of a paragraph can hold. The class will then create a map, list, or write a tiny essay to expand their knowledge of the concept.

The series will conclude on Friday, June 30 from 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. with “Make Your Own Accordion Book”. In this workshop, participants will make their own books by covering book board with Italian book cloth and hand fold paper to form the pages of the book. Participants can choose whether to leave these books blank or fill them with content from one or several of our projects they did earlier in the week. 

All workshops take place at the Hessel School House located at 3206 W Cedar Street in Hessel. Class fees range from $35 – $50. Pre-registration online is required to attend. For more information or to register, call 906-484-1333 or visit www.hesselschoolhouse.org/calendar

 

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