Events

More Wingbeats Workshops

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The Wingbeats Workshops Continue.

 
NOTE:
Half our workshops will be presented in person at Books on the Bosque here in Albuquerque — 6261 Riverside Plaza Lane —
January 9, March 12, May 14, July 9, September 10, and November 12 — each workshop at 6 p.m.
 
Workshops in alternating months will be presented via Zoom —
February 13, April 9, June 11, August 13, October 14, and December 10 — each workshop at 6 p.m. Mountain Time.
 

2024 Workshops

January 9

Scott Wiggerman will present his adaptation of Wordplay poems based on Marty McConnell’s Definition by Opposition in Wingbeats II. In-person at Albuquerque’s Books on the Bosque, 6221 Riverside Plaza Lane, 6:00 p.m. Bring pen and paper for this fun and creative approach to thinking inside and outside the box(es).

February 13

David Meischen will present a workshop based on The Question of Attraction: Ekphrasis, the Wingbeats I Exercise by Madelyn Garner and Andrea Watson. When you consider a work of art, how do you go beyond describing what you see? This workshop presented via Zoom.

March 12

Scott Wiggerman will present at least two approaches to quick revision based on Jill Alexander Essbaum’s Right Turn, Clyde: Ten Variations on a Broken Poem in Wingbeats II. In-person at Albuquerque’s Books on the Bosque, 6221 Riverside Plaza Lane, 6:00 p.m. Bring pen and paper.

April 9

David Meischen will present Memorable Rooms, Memorable Spaces, based on a Georgia Popoff exercise in Wingbeats I. Our focus will be on how to move beyond pure description, how to make a static place dynamic. This workshop presented via Zoom.

May 14

Scott Wiggerman will present his adaptation of Carmen Giménez Smith’s An Exercise in Derangement in Wingbeats II. In-person at Albuquerque’s Books on the Bosque, 6221 Riverside Plaza Lane, 6:00 p.m. Bring pen and paper—and an open mind to a different way of looking at a poem!

June 11

David Meischen will present a variation on Bruce Snider’s The Notebook Poem in Wingbeats I. Our focus: how to return repeatedly to a single significant place. This workshop presented via Zoom.

July 9

Scott Wiggerman will present his adaptation of love/hate poems based on Patricia Colleen Murphy’s Between Sentiment & Language: Creating Tension in Wingbeats II. In-person at Albuquerque’s Books on the Bosque, 6221 Riverside Plaza Lane, 6:00 p.m. Bring pen and paper.

August 13

David Meischen will present Finding the Self Elsewhere, adapted from Lisa Russ Spaar’s self-portrait exercise in Wingbeats I. This workshop presented via Zoom.

September 10

Scott Wiggerman will present his adaptation of litany poems based on James Harms’ Lying: A Series of Exercises in Wingbeats II. In-person at Albuquerque’s Books on the Bosque, 6221 Riverside Plaza Lane, 6:00 p.m. Bring pen and paper. Be prepared to tell some whoppers!

October 8

David Meischen will present a quirky variation on The Abecedarian Corset, Barbara Hamby’s exercise in Wingbeats I. This workshop presented via Zoom.

November 12

Scott Wiggerman will present his adaptation of Weird Word Poems based on Christopher Kennedy’s exercise in Wingbeats II. In-person at Albuquerque’s Books on the Bosque, 6221 Riverside Plaza Lane, 6:00 p.m. Bring pen and paper for this fun approach—and an imagination!

December 10

David Meischen will present his adaptation of Emulating Whitman, Harryette Mullen’s exercise in Wingbeats I. This workshop presented via Zoom.

2023 Workshops

January 10

Getting Unstuck: Steals
Sandra Soli’s exercise from Wingbeats II
Scott Wiggerman’s adaptation

February 14

Ambient Noise
David Meischen’s workshop drawing on exercises by Victoria Redel and Rebecca Wee—from Wingbeats II

March 14

Sentimental Immunity
Adrienne Su’s exercise from Wingbeats II
Scott Wiggerman’s presentation

April 11

Elements of the Arbitrary in Following a Recipe
David Meischen’s workshop, drawing on exercises by Oliver de la Paz and Lisa Russ Spaar in Wingbeats I

May 9

When Good Advice Turns Bad
Diane Lockward’s exercise from Wingbeats II
Scott Wiggerman’s presentation

June 13

The Poem as Letter
David Meischen’s presentation, drawing on exercises by Jenny Browne in Wingbeats I and Melissa Kwasny in Wingbeats II

July 11

The Pojack
Tim Seibles’ exercise from Wingbeats II
Scott Wiggerman’s adaptation

August8

The Window Poem
Kurt Heinzelman’s exercise from Wingbeats I
David Meischen’s adaptation

September 12

Syllabics: Discovery through Form
Alfred Nicol’s exercise from Wingbeats II
David Meischen’s adaptation

October 10

Thirteen Ways of Seeing
David Meischen’s presentation, based on exercises by Patty Seyburn and Tara Betts in Wingbeats I

November 14

A Different Dictionary
Cole Swensen’s exercise from Wingbeats II
David Meischen’s adaptation

December 12

Syllable Counts in a Ten-Line Poem
David Meischen’s variation on an exercise by Susan Terris in Wingbeats I

2022 Workshops

January 11

Aping the Masters: Poems in Imitation

Karla Huston’s exercise from Wingbeats I
David Meischen’s variation

February 8

The Pie Plate: Serving Up a Slice of Travel through the Haibun

Aimee Nezhukumatathil’s exercise from Wingbeats I
David Meischen’s adaptation

March 8

My Mother’s Clothes

Jane Hilberry’s exercise from Wingbeats I
David Meischen’s adaptation

April 12

The Self-Portrait Poem: Facebooking in the Vale of Soul-Making

Lisa Russ Spaar’s exercise from Wingbeats I
David Meischen’s adaptation

May 10

The Foodie Response

karla k. morton’s exercise from Wingbeats II
David Meischen’s adaptation

June 14

Least Significant Object

Alan Birkelbach’s exercise from Wingbeats II
David Meischen’s adaptation

July 12

Nouns at Work, Verbs at Play

Tomás Morín’s exercise from Wingbeats II
David Meischen’s adaptation

August 9

The World Without Us

Keith Ekiss’s exercise from Wingbeats II
David Meischen’s adaptation

September 13

Effective Repetitions

David Meischen’s workshop—based on Wingbeats II exercises by Sandra Soli and Laure-Anne Bosselaar

October 11

Writing the Prose Poem

David Meischen’s workshop—incorporating Wingbeats II approaches by Melissa Kwasney and Dean Rader

November 8

Poetic Riffing

David Meischen’s workshop—based on Tony Hoagland’s exercise in Wingbeats II

December 13, 2022

Muse or Superpower?

David Meischen’s workshop—drawing on exercises by Jane Hilberry, Sandra Soli, and Lee Ann Roripaugh

2021 Workshops

January 12

Seven (or Ten) Line Poem

Susan Terris’s exercise from Wingbeats I
Presented by David Meischen — with a glance back at 2020

February 9

The Foodie Response

karla k. morton’s exercise from Wingbeats II
Presented by David Meischen — with a twist for 2021

March 9

Energy of Three

David Meischen’s Exercise from Wingbeats II
Presented by David Meischen

April 13

Thirteen (Give or Take) Ways (of Seeing)

Patty Seyburn’s Exercise from Wingbeats I
Presented by David Meischen

May11

The Word List

Ellen Bass’s exercise from Wingbeats I
Presented by David Meischen

June 8

The Abecedarian Corset

Barbara Hamby’s exercise from Wingbeats I
Presented by David Meischen

July 13

The Bermuda Triangle

Catherine Bowman’s exercise from Wingbeats I
Presented by David Meischen

August 10

When Good Advice Turns Bad

Diane Lockward’s exercise from Wingbeats II
Presented by David Meischen

September 14

Memory, Periphery, & Then Some

Victoria Redel’s excercise from Wingbeats II
This is one of David Meischen’s very favorite poetry writing exercises. He will present a variation.

October 12

The Postcard Poem

Andrea Hollander’s Exercise from Wingbeats I
Think brevity. Think compression. David Meischen will present his variation on this exercise.

November 9

Tales from the Bathroom: The Curious Path to a Poem

Georgia Popoff’s exercise from Wingbeats I
David Meischen will present another of his favorite exercises.

December 14

The Window Poem

Kurt Heinzelman’s excercise from Wingbeats I
David Meischen will present a variation on this exercise.

2020 Workshops

January 14

Soundscape Poems

Farid Matuk’s exercise from Wingbeats II
Presented by Scott Wiggerman

February 11

Meeting Your Muse

Jane Hilberry’s exercise from Wingbeats I
Presented by David Meischen

March 10

Writing Renga Together

Elizabeth Jacobson’s exercise from Wingbeats II
Presented by Scott Wiggerman

April 14

The World Without Us: An Exercise in Apocalypse

Keith Ekiss’s exercise from Wingbeats II
Presented via Zoom by David Meischen

May12

Speaking the Unspoken

Anne McCrady’s exercise from Wingbeats I
Presented via Zoom by Anne McCrady

June 9

The Notebook Poem

Bruce Snider’s exercise from Wingbeats I
Presented via Zoom by Bruce Snider

July 14

Writing the Mathematical Poem

Carol Dorf’s exercise from Wingbeats II
Presented via Zoom by Carol Dorf

August 11

A Crack in the Cup

Wendy Barker’s exercise from Wingbeats I
Presented via Zoom by Wendy Barker

September 8

Emulating Walt Whitman

Harryette Mullen’s exercise from Wingbeats I
Presented via Zoom by David Meischen

October 13

Rube Goldberg Poems

Oliver de la Paz’s exercise from Wingbeats I
Presented via Zoom by David Meischen

November 10

Finding Laughter in Dark Times

Lori Desrosiers, Wingbeats I contributor, will be with us to present this new exercise.

December 8

Getting Unstuck

Sandra Soli’s exercise from Wingbeats II
David Meischen will select from among Sandra Soli’s “Ten Warm-Ups” for this workshop.

2019 Workshops

January 8

Line-Finding

Kathleen Peirce’s exercise from Wingbeats I
Presented by Scott Wiggerman

February 12

The Bermuda Triangle

Catherine Bowman’s exercise from Wingbeats I
Presented by David Meischen

March 12

Hand and Divination

Alison Cimino’s exercise from Wingbeats I
Presented by Scott Wiggerman

April 9

The Self-Portrait Poem: Facebooking in the Vale of Soul-Making

Lisa Russ Spaar’s exercise from Wingbeats I
Presented by David Meischen

May 14

Least Significant Object: The Importance of Point of View

Alan Birkelbach’s exercise from Wingbeats II
Presented by Scott Wiggerman

June 11

Jump-Start that Poem Making Project: A Repurposing & Caulking Exercise

Pablo Miguel Martinez’s exercise from Wingbeats II
Presented by Scott Wiggerman

July 9

The Syllabic: Discovery through Form

Alfred Nicol’s exercise from Wingbeats II
Presented by Scott Wiggerman

August 13

An Exercise in Derangement

Carmen Giménez Smith’s exercise from Wingbeats II
Presented by David Meischen

September 10

The PoJack

Tim Seibles’ exercise from Wingbeats II
Presented by David Meischen

MONDAY, October 7

Fun with Fake Truths: The Wikipedia Poem

Dean Rader’s exercise from Wingbeats II
Presented by David Meischen

November 12

The Lyric as Letter

Melissa Kwasny’s exercise from Wingbeats II
Presented by David Meischen

2018 Workshops

January 9

Weird Word Poems

Christopher Kennedy’s exercise from Wingbeats II
Presented by Scott Wiggerman

February 13

A Crack in the Cup

Wendy Barker’s exercise from Wingbeats I
Presented by David Meischen

March 13

Nouns at Work, Verbs at Play

Tomás Morín’s exercise from Wingbeats II
Presented by David Meischen

April 10

Rube Goldberg Poems

Oliver de la Paz’s exercise from Wingbeats I

May 8

Tell It Slant: The Extended Metaphor

Meg Kearney’s exercise from Wingbeats II
Presented by Scott Wiggerman

June 12

The Window Poem

Kurt Heinzelman’s exercise from Wingbeats I
Presented by David Meischen

July 10

Tales from the Bathroom: The Curious Path to a Poem

Georgia Popoff’s exercise from Wingbeats I
Presented by David Meischen

August 14

Sentimental Immunity: The Animal Poem

Adrienne Su’s exercise from Wingbeats II
Presented by Scott Wiggerman

September 11

My Mother’s Clothes

Jane Hillberry’s exercise from Wingbeats I
Presented by David Meischen

October 9

Ways of Looking

Tara Betts’ exercise from Wingbeats I
Presented by Scott Wiggerman

November 13

The Foodie Response: Pushing through Writer’s Block

karla k. morton’s exercise from Wingbeats II
Presented by David Meischen

2017 Workshops

January 10

The Notebook Poem

Bruce Snider’s exercise from Wingbeats
Presented by Scott Wiggerman

February 14

Love Letter to a Stranger

Jenny Browne’s exercise from Wingbeats
Presented by David Meischen

March 14

Aping the Masters

Karla Huston’s exercise from Wingbeats
Presented by Scott Wiggerman

May 9

Definition by Oppositions

Marty McConnell’s exercise from Wingbeats II
Presented by David Meischen

June 13

Things: A Brainstorming Game for All Ages

Sandra Soli’s exercise from Wingbeats II
Presented by Scott Wiggerman

August 7

Emulating Walt Whitman

Harryette Mullen’s exercise from Wingbeats
Presented by David Meischen

September 12

Twenty Ideas for Titles

Susan Terris’s exercise from Wingbeats
Presented by David Meischen

October10

Repetition & Cadence, or Repetition for Cadence

Laure-Anne Bosselaar’s exercise from Wingbeats II
Presented by Scott Wiggerman

November 14

World Without Us: An Exercise in Apocalypse

Keith Ekiss’s exercise from Wingbeats II
Presented by David Meischen