"Dear Homefolks": Writing Letter Poems to Our Ancestors
"Dear Homefolks": Writing Letter Poems to Our Ancestors
A poetry workshop with Elizabeth Sylvia.
Letters create closeness out of distance. In this workshop, suitable for beginning and experienced poets alike, we'll explore how epistolary poems — poems in the form of letters — can help us feel closer to prior generations.
We'll begin with a quick postcard poem warmup inspired by a vintage postcard, then look at examples of epistolary poems before writing letters to family members who came before us. After exploring a few more poetic models together, we'll close with one last poem written from the perspective of an ancestor — and a voluntary share, with a moment of thanks for those who shaped us.
An encouraging, supportive space to create and connect.
Bring a notebook and writing utensils. You're also welcome to bring small mementos of the folks you might want to write about — photographs, letters, names, family stories.
Ages 16+
Wednesday, July 8 · 6:00–8:00 PM
Instructor Bio
Elizabeth Sylvia is the author of the full-length collections Scythe (River River Books, 2026) and None But Witches (2022), winner of the Three Mile Harbor Book Award, as well as the chapbook My Little Book of Domestic Anxieties (Ballerini Books Press, 2025). She was the winner of the 2023 riverSedge Poetry Prize, and her work has been supported by fellowships from the New York Public Library, the West Chester Poetry Center, and the Longleaf Writers' Conference. Elizabeth has read and presented workshops at MassPoetry, Lit Youngstown, the Nossrat Yassini Poetry Festival, and the Tell It Slant Poetry Festival. She lives in Mattapoisett, Massachusetts, with her husband, two daughters, and a garden forever in need of a good weeding.