Poetics of Silence

What is silence in poetry? From concrete poetry to collage, from cinematic poetry to poems that wrestle with grief, colonial absences, and the invisibility of black and brown people in the American eye–where are silences most potent in literature, and why? In this workshop, we’ll be reckoning with the works of artists like John Cage, Susan Howe, Jjjjjerome Ellis, Diana Khoi Nguyen, Solmaz Sharif, Theresa Hak Kyung Cha, and m. nourbeSe philip to work at defining and refining silence, and to reflect on how the paradox of silence persists. Through writing exercises that engage with collage, cyanotypes and erasure, we will explore the impossibilities and wonders of blank space, and how it can speak in our own poetry.

Open to poetry writers of all levels. This is a 2-week workshop, with a 2-hour session each week. Please prepare for approximately 4 hours of work, including time for your own writing.

This 2-week workshop meets from 6-8pm at LitArts RI on the following dates:

Thurs, Nov 12
Wed, Nov 18
*Please note this workshop begins on a Thursday and concludes on a Wednesday.

About Your Teaching Artist

Sloan Asakura (she/he/they) is a poet and memoirist from Los Angeles. They have received support from organizations like Periplus Collective, McCormack Writing Center, and Blue Mountain Center. They completed their MFA in Literary Arts at Brown University where they won the 2025 Frances Mason Harris Prize and the 2026 Edwin Honig Memorial Award. They are the winner of the 2024 CRAFT Memoir Excerpt & Essay Contest and 2026 Only Poems Poet of the Year Award. Their work can be found in Joyland, BRINK, The Rumpus, and more.