Craft Talk: A Life of Making Poems with Lawrence Joseph

In this craft talk, poet and legal scholar Lawrence Joseph celebrates 40 years of his path through the writing life. He discusses the ways his Lebanese and Syrian Catholic heritage, his professional life as a lawyer, and his working-class background have impacted his writing. Drawing on his latest book—A Certain Clarity: Selected Poems, spanning nearly forty years of work—Joseph will consider what it means to write poetry during the politically turbulent times in which we live. He takes us through his poem “Once Again,” included on the Poetry Path in Battery Park City, then considers Chen Chen’s poem fragment, “Set the Garden on Fire,” also on the Poetry Path, and gives us a writing prompt. Introduction and conversation by Poets House Program Director Paolo Javier.

This event initiates an on-going series of Poetry Path events including Micro-Readings by US Poet Laureate Joy Harjo, Brenda Hillman, Chen Chen, Ross Gay, and many others; tours, workshops, and more!

Posted on IGTV, YouTube, and our website.

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