Poetry To See: Creating Visual Poetry Broadsides

Participants will use text and image to create your very own visual poetry broadsides.

A poetry broadside (or broadsheet) is one sheet of paper printed on one side with a poem. Visual poetry is a growing field wherein poets use linguistic fragments to create poems that are also works of visual art.

Participants will create original mixed-media works of art fusing your own poetic texts with your own original visuals, making unique poem-objects that are both read and seen!

Through playful experimentation you will explore various text-making and image-making approaches, resulting not in an illustrated poem, but a poem that also derives its meaning and impact through its visual delivery.

Both the poetry and the visuals will be created from scratch during the workshop. No art experience necessary, just a willingness to try things out.

We will use collage, rubber stamps, stencils, dry-transfer lettering and any and all non-digital ways of making text. Materials can be found around the house and can be augmented by inexpensive store-bought items. We will provide a list of possible materials so you are prepared.

This workshop is FREE but space is limited. To register: awe@atwaterlibrary.ca.

Co-presented with the Atwater Writers Exhibition, and generously supported by the Community Cultural Action Fund (CCAF) of the Department of Canadian Heritage.