Juxtaposition in Poetry with Ellen Bass

​Like an artist assembling a collage or a film editor splicing a montage, poets build tension, friction, surprise, and meaning through juxtaposition. 

By putting things side-by-side without explanation, we invite the reader into the poem to consider the relationship. As Susan Griffin says, “The meaning is allowed to become more nuanced and even open-ended.” These unexpected pairings can be of images, ideas, and events, as well as of syntax and voice. 

You’ll learn a variety of approaches to make evocative associations. Juxtaposition reflects the complexity of our lives.

​​FAQs:

• ​​I'm unable to join live. Will the event be recorded?
  Yes! The event will be recorded and shared with ticket-holders via email the following day.

• ​​How can I participate during the event?
  You will be joining a Zoom Meeting for this event. We encourage you to have your camera on, but remain muted until prompted. We also recommend that you come prepared with writing materials!

​​I live outside the U.S. Can I still join?
Yes! We have many international members in Sustenance. We'd love to see you there no matter where you're tuning in from.

​​BIO:

Ellen Bass’s most recent collection, Indigo, was published by Copper Canyon Press in 2020. Her other poetry books include Like a Beggar, The Human Line, and Mules of Love. Her poems appear  frequently in The New Yorker, American Poetry Review, and many other journals.

Among her awards are Fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, The NEA, and The California Arts Council, The Lambda Literary Award, and four Pushcart Prizes. She co-edited the first major anthology of women’s poetry, No More Masks!, and her nonfiction books include the groundbreaking The Courage to Heal: A Guide for Women Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse and Free Your Mind: The Book for Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Youth.

A Chancellor Emerita of the Academy of American Poets, Bass founded poetry workshops at Salinas Valley State Prison and the Santa Cruz, California jails, and teaches in the MFA writing program at Pacific University.