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"These Mountains Know My Name: Celebrating Poetry, Identity and Place."
Scottsdale Community College (SCC) is excited to announce a Poetry Fest titled "These Mountains Know My Name: Celebrating Poetry, Identity, and Place." This half-day event, designed for poets, prose writers, and creative minds of all levels, will take place from 10 am to 2 pm, on Saturday, October 19, 2024, and is free to attend.
Led by Dr. Lois Roma-Deeley, Poet Laureate of Scottsdale, along with Kim Sabin, Residential Faculty for SCC's Creative Writing Program, the festival promises an inspiring and connective experience that will unlock new spaces for creatives to explore, play, and delve deep within themselves. Whether you are a burgeoning poet or a seasoned writer, the Poetry Fest will lead you on a journey to connect with your community, personal history, and the natural world. Through a series of exploratory writing exercises, attendees will investigate how their identities and surroundings inspire, shape, and inform their creative work.
"This Poetry Fest is a celebration of our sense of place in the world…as we move through the world and as the world moves through us," says Dr. Roma-Deeley. "We will generate new work, perfect or imperfect as our first efforts may be. No matter. Through poetry, our words celebrate our unique individuality as well as our communal experiences."
Participants will also have the unique opportunity to engage with local creative writing and arts organizations, making it an excellent chance to connect with fellow writers and artists. Writers from all disciplines are welcome to join this supportive environment designed to foster creativity and community.
SCC's Creative Writing Program attracts writers of all experience levels, providing them with the tools of craft, critique, and community. Through writing workshops, students learn the basics of writing poetry, creative nonfiction, and fiction while developing their ability to give and receive informed, constructive feedback. Special events, like the October Poetry Fest, the Sonder Open Mics, and the Vortex Literary and Art Journal competition and awards ceremony, extend these opportunities beyond the classroom, creating a vibrant, warm, and welcoming literary community.
The event is made possible by the generous support of the Academy of American Poets and the Mellon Foundation in collaboration with SCC's Creative Writing Program.
The event is being held at the Indigenous Cultural Center, on the SCC campus. Space is limited, so be sure to RSVP here to secure your spot for this unique celebration of poetry and identity. Participants will receive materials for the workshop. For more information, call (480) 423-6415 or email kimberly.sabin@scottsdalecc.edu.
Take advantage of this opportunity to explore the art of poetry and celebrate the connections between language, identity, and place.