So this weekend I had a bit of an existential crisis with my manuscript of poems in progress. I showed up at the beautiful home of my instructor, Anna Journey, in a somewhat dejected mood. I was feeling a bit uninspired, and it only took about ten minutes and three sips of coffee before I was spilling my concerns: I was experiencing a sense of ennui with writing, revision, and book construction. Did it really matter that I got my work out there? Why did I bother to write at all?

Today's featured book comes from Mark Instructor Anna Journey's syllabus.

So this week I’m in the process of revising my poetry manuscript for the midterm review in the Mark Program. I have to turn in an updated manuscript by Friday, and it’s got to be about twenty-five pages shorter than when I started...when it was close to ninety-five pages. It’s also got to be more intentionally organized. That’s the purpose of this program, to get me to reflect on manuscript construction, my poems, and how to put together a book of poetic fragments. The process has been exciting yet daunting.
 

The Mark Program is pleased to present a generative poetry workshop with Mark instructor Anna Journey.

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 20 and SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2011
All participants must be able to attend both sessions.

Anna Journey is the author of the collection If Birds Gather Your Hair for Nesting (University of Georgia Press, 2009), selected by Thomas Lux for the National Poetry Series.

Today we're featuring the poetry collection Taste of Cherry by Kara Candito, a reading assignment from Mehnaz's syllabus. Per Mark Instructor Anna Journey's recommendation, Taste of Cherry is an excellent selection for any serious poet putting together a collection. Mehnaz is scheduled to Skype with Candito at the end of September.