Resource Sharing: Antioch Writer’s Workshop

Nikki Giovanni soaks in the appreciation of her audience at AWW in 2016.

I’d heard about the legendary Antioch Writer’s Workshop since my MFA days at University of Texas at El Paso, so I was thrilled to move to Yellow Springs, Ohio and find that my new hometown was also home to this legendary conference.  But I never had the money or the time to attend the conference, and I worried that the workshops wouldn’t help me grow as a writer since many of them seemed geared to writers earlier in their growth.

Last year, though, at the urging of two of my writer friends (one the President of the board), I applied for a scholarship.  I won second place and earned half the tuition for the conference, so I was in. 

And I’m so glad I went.  I expanded my writer community, I met Nikki Giovanni, I worked with a wonderful group of poets and the legendary Herbert Martin, and I learned some essential lessons that have been instrumental in helping me advance my career this year. 

No matter where you are in your writer’s path, AWW will help you grow a little more.  I’ll be there again this year (just in the morning and weekend sessions) as will  a number of other writers including Roxanne Gay, Shane McRae, John Drury, Kristina McBride, and Lee Martin.  I’m looking forward to connecting with more writers, learning more about craft and platform, and soaking in the inspiration and joy of being surrounded by people who feel as passionate about words as I do. 

I hope you’ll join me.

Hero moment.  I got to meet a huge influence-Nikki Giovanni--at AWW in 2016. 

Listening

I spent the day recording people from 11 to 88 as each of them answered the question, "What's your favorite poem?" Every person had an answer, even those who "don't read poetry." Every person knew some of the lines. Everyone knew why they remembered the lines, but my favorite answer was, "It's useful." After I left my impromptu interviewee, I could often hear him or her talking with friends and table mates about other poems and about poets they loved. 

And listening to those 28 voices again on my recordings brought tears to my eyes. I am reminded, again, of the power of the word. And also, today, the power, beauty, and variety of the human voice. Heart, full.