Making it New: Poems in Response to Myth and History

As Ezra Pound urges, writers are always called to "make it new." Some writers have discovered what is "new" by looking at what is old, creating poems based on characters from myth or history. At times, such poems can be a way to speak of deeply personal concerns without resorting to a confessional mode. Elizabeth Bishop, for example, never wrote directly about her struggles with alcohol, but her poem based on the Biblical story of the Prodigal Son seems to reflect her own experience. Other writers, like Tracy K. Smith and Eavan Boland, use little-known individuals from the past to show how parts of our history are overlooked. Carol Ann Duffy, drawing on the myth of King Midas, creates an imaginary "Mrs. Midas" who speaks about the layered complexity of a marriage. Is there a character, either real or fictional, who reflects some aspect of your own experience? Some person whose narrative mirrors your own?

In this one-day seminar, we will look at poems by other writers that address this theme, and we'll also discuss poems written by members of the group.

About the Instructor

Margaret Mackinnon is the author of two collections of poetry, The Invented Child (Silverfish Review Press 2013), winner of the 2014 Literary Award in Poetry from the Library of Virginia, and Afternoon in Cartago (Ashland Poetry Press 2022), winner of the Richard Snyder Memorial Publication Prize. Her work has appeared in The Hampden-Sydney PoetryReview, Image, Poetry, Blackbird, and other journals. She attended Vassar College and the University of North Carolina, and she received her MFA in poetry from the University of Florida. She lives with her family in Richmond.