Tupelo Press Writing Conferences: San Francisco Bay Area

Coming in January, our fourth annual Bay Area Poetry Conference, offered in two-day, intimate, private settings for small groups of poets who are dedicated to growing their work by leaps and bounds (see below!). There are three sections:

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Weekend—Berkeley, January 23-24, 2016 (One slot left)

Midweek—San Francisco, January 27-28, 2016 (Closed)

Weekend—Portola Valley, January 30-31, 2016 (Closed)

 

 

 

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Here’s how Jeffrey Levine, award-winning poet and Publisher of nationally acclaimed Tupelo Press, describes his exciting and innovative plan for the upcoming workshops.

“I’ve had a revelation about how to help poets climb inside their poetry in the most helpful and liberating way I have discovered in 15 years of mentoring. For the past few years, I’ve been immersed in translating the poetry of Pablo Neruda. The process of successfully translating (any poet writing in any language) entails finding creative ways to make that poet’s work sound as though they had actually written their poems in English. It hit me that the techniques for accomplishing that goal must be transferrable to writing and revising our own work: how to consider and master the ‘foreign language’ of our own poetry. I couldn’t be more eager to share with you both this revelation, and the techniques I’ve developed to:

Analyze how several of Neruda’s poems mean, and how they are made to work in English;
Use that insight to understand how our own poems ‘mean,’ and how they are made to work while translating thought and experience into the uniquely ‘foreign language’ of our own work; and
How we can apply those insights toward reading and revising our own work in English with the eye of a translator. *

This last step is the most exciting way I’ve discovered to transform and deepen both my own work and the work of poet’s I mentor.

Thinking as a ‘translator’ of your own work — working your way into drafts to discover the range of intentions and motives perhaps as yet unknown even to you — you will discover an entirely new way to approach revision — one that opens up worlds of possibility. I’ll be sharing these ideas in poetry conferences around the country, but I’m excited to launch this new creative method with you in the Bay Area.”


Enrollment and Logistics

Tupelo Press San Francisco Bay Writers' Conference, streetcarEach two-day conference meets daily from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. Lodging is not included in the conference fee.

Who: Limited to first 9 participants who enroll (apply by clicking here).

When: Weekend in Berkeley, January 24-25, 2016; or Midweek, San Francisco, January 27 – 28, 2016; or Weekend, Portola Valley, January 30 – 31, 2016.

Fee: $595

 


Tupelo Press San Francisco Writers' Conference meeting spaceEditorial Reviews of Full-Length or Chapbook Manuscripts

Participants in either session may sign up separately with Jeffrey Levine for an one-on-one review of your full-length or chapbook manuscript. Cost: $400 for chapbook length (up to 32 page), $800 for full-length (up to 54 page) manuscripts. (This represents a substantial discount for workshop attendees.)


Participant Comments:

“I do feel that my editor’s eye has been trained in both the close read and the over-all picture. Being invited to questioning the strategy and the moment of a poem were very helpful techniques to me. Also, the emphasis on finding the place where a poem is hiding from itself, or where the speaker is hiding from where the poem wants to go–thinking in that way in those terms was revelatory. Thank you for a very valuable learning experience.” –Renee Schell

“The conference was out of this world wonderful! I loved having the sessions in homes.” —Jill Murray

“I could go on for days about what I learned, but to sum it up I walked away with a valuable tool box much needed for improving my craft and tapping into more creativity; and how to dissect at poem as if it were a science project! I have experience with those helping my kids in science fair for so many years! I learned to make each word a poem! I also benefited immensely from the list of journals for submissions and advice on submitting a full manuscript and names of publishers.” —Lorene Zouzounis

“I’ve attended three conferences with Jeffrey and each one opens new doors to my writing. His editor’s eye teaches how to stand back from one’s work, with a positive attitude, and find just the right next step to take, whether a subtle tweak or radical revision. He engages all the senses, keeps a varied and respectful pace that demands your full engagement but does not exhaust you. His reading is incisive, his interactions generous, and his passion for the art infectious.” —Nancy Meyer


Jeffrey Levine, Publisher, Tupelo Press
Jeffrey Levine, Publisher, Tupelo Press

Jeffrey Levine is the author of three books of poetry: Rumor of Cortez, nominated for a 2006 Los Angeles Times Literary Award in Poetry, Mortal, Everlasting, which won the 2002 Transcontinental Poetry Prize. A third book Jubilo is forthcoming. His many poetry prizes include the Larry Levis Prize from the Missouri Review, the James Hearst Poetry Prize from North American Review, the Mississippi Review Poetry Prize, the Ekphrasis Poetry Prize, and the American Literary Review poetry prize. His poems have garnered 14 Pushcart nominations. A graduate of the Warren Wilson MFA Program for Writers, Levine is founder, Editor‐in‐Chief and Publisher of Tupelo Press, an award‐winning independent literary press located in the historic Eclipse Mill in the Berkshire Mountains of Western Massachusetts. In addition, he has served for several years on the core faculty of the Colrain Manuscript Conferences and is Director of the esteemed Tupelo Press Writing Conferences.

Contact Information:

Email: conferences@tupelopress.org
Phone: 413‐664‐9611

Refund Policy: Refund up to 4 weeks prior each conference, less 15% processing fee.


* Tupelo Press is publishing the first English translation of Canto General by a native Spanish speaker, first by a Chilean, first by a woman!