Join us on Sunday, December 10, 2023 at 2:00pm Central for a generative workshop with featured poet Jae Nichelle.
Mirror in Verse: The Art of Crafting a Poetic Self-Portrait
Self portraiture has been around for centuries and across regions. A self-portrait gives us as audience members or readers a glimpse into what an artist or writer thinks of themself. What they see that we don’t.
As writers, a self-portrait allows us a moment of introspection. How do we see ourselves? Where? And in what? Frequently, the answers are surprising. And these answers affect the way we move about the world. I am personally interested, too, in how our vision of ourselves changes over time.
Inspired by work from Danez Smith, Shakthi Shrima, George Abraham, Roxane Beth Johnson, and others, this workshop is designed to guide you through the art of reflecting your inner world and personal narrative through a specific object or moment in your life.
SUPPORT OUR WORK: Suggested donation of $5 or more. Become a monthly patron on Patreon or make a one-time donation at our PayPal, Venmo (@omliterary), or CashApp ($openmouthliterary).
Every donation to Open Mouth Literary Center supports our programming, ASL interpreters, featured poets, and increasing accessibility. The only way we can keep doing this is with our community’s support!
ACCESS NOTES: The reading will take place virtually via Zoom with Zoom and Otter.ai auto captions. An ASL interpreter will be present. Access copies of poems will be made available via Google Docs. Our Access Statement will be read before we begin.
Recommended for attendees 16 years and above.
FEATURED POET:
Louisiana-born Jae Nichelle (she/her) is the author of God Themselves (Andrews McMeel, 2023) and the chapbook The Porch (As Sanctuary) (YesYes Books, 2019). She is a finalist for a 2023 Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Fellowship and won the inaugural John Lewis Writing Award in poetry from the Georgia Writers Association. Her poetry has appeared in Best New Poets 2020 (University of Virginia Press, 2020), the Washington Square Review, The Offing, Muzzle Magazine, and elsewhere.
EVENT HEADER IMAGE DESCRIPTION:
Photo of the featured reader outlined with a white line and displayed over a light blue background. Beneath the photo are the words “Open Mouth Presents: A Workshop with Jae Nichelle.” Availability of sign language interpretation is indicated by the presence of an icon showing two hands signing in the bottom left corner.
Photo: The poet Jae Nichelle, a brown-skinned woman with black and brown locs and clear-framed glasses, visible from the chest up. She smiles while making direct eye contact with the camera. She is wearing a turtleneck with a blue, purple, and white patterned jacket.
SPONSORS: Support for Open Mouth Literary Center is provided, in part, by the Arkansas Arts Council, an agency of the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage, and Tourism, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Additional support comes from our supporters on Patreon.