Pearl S. Buck Writing Center Hosts Poetry Conference

The Pear S. Buck Writing Center in Perkasie is hosting a Writing Teachers’ Event on April 18 from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The day includes three sessions designed explore the world of poetry, including haiku, free verse, acrostics and more. The sessions will also include working with writer’s tools such as a writer’s notebook, Animoto, Kizoa and Storybird.

The conference, which is $35, includes an abbreviated Writers Tour of the Pearl S. Buck House. Writers will meet in the International Cultural Center, where they can register. Writers can also register at www.pearlsbuck.org/writingevents. Act 48 is available to teachers. Participants are asked to bring a bagged lunch.

The follow is a description of the three session part of the event:

Session I: The World of Poetry: Imagining the Possibilities - Presenters: Janice Ewing & Lynne Dorfman.

Participants will explore myriad forms of poetry: acrostics, poems for two voices, persona poems, haiku, free verse, found poems, pantoum, question, and list poems. Facilitators will model and provide a packet of examples as mentor texts for participants to imitate. All will leave with four or five drafts of poetry types and many ideas for crafting more poems. Over 50 poetry books for children and adults will be available for browsing. Six poetry books will be given away as door prizes (for children & for adults).

Session II: Tools for Writing & Publishing: Presenter: Rita Sorrentino.

Participants will explore various aspects of “getting ready to publish.” Tools will include writer’s notebooks, Internet sites, writers’ magazines and professional books about writing (available for browsing), and other options such as Animoto, Kizoa, and Storybird. Each participant will receive a packet with instructions for a variety of technology tools to use with fiction and nonfiction writing.

Session III: Exercises for Writers: Writing Daily in a Writer’s Notebook: Presenters: Kathy Wirth, Janice Ewing & Lynne Dorfman.

Many of us need a structured way to overcome writer’s block and get our ideas flowing. Writer’s notebooks allow children, teens, and adults to take in the world around them and document their daily lives. This workshop will provide an easy, informal way to start thinking about a writer’s notebook and how to percolate new topics and ideas. A notebook will be provided for each participant in this session and a packet of simple, interesting writing exercises to awaken the writer within!