Part of The Poetry Society of New York's Weekly Virtual Workshop Series.

With poet Kailey Tedesco.

In this workshop, attendees will hear a very brief history of poetry that channels and/or converses with the dead using examples from contemporary poets such as the workshop leader (Kailey Tedesco), Candice Wuehle, and more.

We will then practice automatic writing and free association exercises using the vibrations of names in order to tap into our psychic abilities.

Attendees will be encouraged to bring a photograph of someone who has deceased. This can be a loved one, a historical figure, or a complete stranger. We will open the room for a dialogue with the deceased by welcoming this deceased individual to “speak”. As we focus on our photographs, we will jot down any words or phrases that come to mind for about three minutes. Then we will close out our “seance” by clearing the room with the ringing of a bell and giving a brief moment of silence for the spirits we have channeled.

We will finally use the phrases/images from our seance to generate a persona poem from the voice of the spirit we have each channeled. This can be a cathartic dialogue to work through grief, a confession, or a revisionist piece that gives us insights society has never considered. The goal will be to fully embody this being in order to step outside of the self and make our free associations, and therefore our use of language, more fruitful.

It is recommended that attendees have a photo of any deceased person (familiar to them or otherwise) handy for this workshop.

**This workshop will take place on Zoom.**