In this Lithub interview, Fall faculty member Airea D. Matthews speaks about Anne Sexton's influence on Simulacra, which contains poems inspired by imagined texts with the renowned poet:

"Sexton’s work speaks to my full existence. She, too, was an entire cast of characters-woman, wife, mother, writer, patient. She started writing then stopped and picked it up again, as did I. She wrote through mental illness, familial demands, and a life that appeared hyper-privileged from the margins, as do I. She found a way to bring her complex self to the page with humility and freshness, resisting aesthetics that did not suit her, as I hope to do.

She also reconciled her own tumultuous relationship with the truth through her writing. And although she is canonized as a confessional poet, her poems direct massive amounts of energy to illuminating certain effects of the universal human condition...she was a pathcutter, much like Rimbaud and Stein. I admire that more than almost any single characteristic among writers."

Read the full interview here, and be sure to check out Airea's workshop here.

Daisy Fried's Upcoming Poetry Workshop

Writing the Political Poem

November 4 to November 8

1 Week Asynchronous Workshop

This workshop aims to help you find formats and strategies to write good, effective political poems, working especially where political and personal materials intersect.

Learn more and register here.

Discounted Workshops for Students and Educators!

Throughout the Fall 2024 season, if you're a student or educator, please take advantage of a 20% discount on any Fall 2024 workshop by typing in the code STUDENT/TEACHER20OFF.