Local writer hosts poetry workshops
By James Albright, chair of the Mason Arts Council
Community members are invited to a pair of poetry workshops here in Annandale this month led by local writer Lisa Lowry.
The Poetry for All workshops will be held on subsequent Thursdays (Feb. 19 and 26) 10-11:30 a.m. at the John Calvin Presbyterian Church, at 6531 Columbia Pike.
The classes, open to all levels of writers, focus on a relaxed and accessible approach to poetry. Each session will begin with a guided writing exercise to get pens moving. Participants will then read and discuss a variety of poems.
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Following the discussion, everyone will write an original poem inspired by the readings and a specific prompt. Classes will conclude with an optional sharing session focused exclusively on positive feedback.
The cost is $15 per session. Aspiring poets can sign up for one or both classes. Register here.
Instructor Lisa Lowry lives and writes in Northern Virginia. When she is not writing, she helps run Kids Comic Unite, an online community for graphic novel creators. Her fiction has been published in Mash Stories and the Fredericksburg Literary and Art Review. In addition to writing, she enjoys miniature worlds, verse novels, and playing on a static trapeze.
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The poetry workshops reflect a growing interest in our community in the value of arts and culture in civic life. There are now regular art openings at Beanetics Coffee Roasters, art events hosted at John Calvin Presbyterian Church, and the third year of Art in Daily Spaces.
More arts activities are coming this year, including art social hours, a community-wide series of art-inspired events around the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, more classes, and the second annual Mason District Arts Festival on Oct. 7.
Interesting project but needs a slight change. Honesty is positive feedback. If a poem is not good, authors should be told that. It aims them to what they need to improve, or find a new way. The current strategy for feedback is flawed, “focused exclusively on positive feedback.”