Eco Poetics for the City Dweller

Class Description

In this workshop, we’ll be experimenting with the strategies and intuitions of nature poetry applied to the built urban environment. We’ll be entering that experiment by breaking down how poets Jon Sands and Elizabeth Acevedo write about the humble city rat. We’ll look at how these writers parse through the many systems, natural and unnatural, that are constantly at play in the city, and how these poets explore tensions unearthed between their identity and their city.

The main goal for the workshop is to brainstorm an aspect of our city that might seem ‘unworthy,’ superficial, or overlooked, and to imagine what it might be an expert at. How has its perspective been shaped by its circumstances? In what ways may it actually be a vital aspect of our city as we know it? We can think of poems as little cities and systems in and of themselves, where all details are at play and interconnected with one another, by design or by emergence.

The writing skills we intended to exercise include, but are not limited to: personification, descriptive language, odes and elegies as a poetic form, introducing and subverting aspects of nature poetry, and personal narrative.

Class Format

This class will take place in-person at our Center for Creative Writing in Boston's Seaport neighborhood. Please note that proof of vaccination against COVID-19 is required to attend this class. Please submit your proof of vaccination here at least 48 hours before your class begins. Read on to learn more about GrubStreet's vaccine protocol and find information about where to get vaccinated below.

GrubStreet Vaccine Protocol

Please submit your most recent proof of vaccination, which requires a booster shot for those eligible, here at least 48 hours before your class begins. If you have previously submitted a proof of vaccination that did not include your booster shot, you will need to resubmit your updated vaccine card. If you are not able to fill out our vaccination form 48 hours before your class begins, please bring your vaccine card (or a photo of it) with you to the building. Please note that if you arrive for class and you have not filled out the form and do not have proof of vaccination with you, you will not be allowed to participate in the class. And don’t forget your mask! In accordance with the City of Boston, masks will be required at all times while inside the building. Click here to read GrubStreet's full Vaccination and Masking Policy.

Vaccination status: For in-person classes and events, your vaccination status is considered up-to-date until the time you are eligible for a booster – which is 5 months after the second dose in a two-shot series. Boosters are required for all visitors on our second floor if your second shot was more than 5 months ago.

Need help getting vaccinated? It’s free and easy to receive a COVID-19 vaccine! Please visit Massachusetts’ VaxFinder page to find a vaccination site near you. If you'd like to learn more, you can read the answers to some commonly asked questions about COVID vaccination here.

Scholarship Information

Thanks to the excellent literary citizenship of our donors, scholarships are available for all GrubStreet classes. To apply, click the gray "APPLY FOR SCHOLARSHIP" button. In order to be considered for a scholarship, you must complete your application at least one week before the start date of a class. Please await our scholarship committee's decision before registering for the class. We cannot hold spots in classes, so the sooner you apply, the better. Scholarships cannot be applied retroactively.

For more more detailed information about GrubStreet scholarships, including how to contribute to scholarship funds for other students, click here.