What are the elements that define our places and, in turn, define ourselves? Poets can define a location, city, or region with intricate detail or intense emotion by intimately acquainting us with their experiences. Through the poetry of Phillip Levine, bell hooks, and others, this workshop will examine the elements of place in poetry and guide participants in developing or even redefining places as their own.

Len Lawson received a B.S. in Business Administration from Winthrop University, an M.A. in English from National University, and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in English Literature & Criticism at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, earning the 2020 IUP Outstanding Doctoral Student Award. He is the author of Chime, the chapbook Before the Night Wakes You, and co-editor of Hand in Hand: Poets Respond to Race. His poetry has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and Best of   the Net. He has received fellowships from Callaloo, Vermont Studio Center, Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, and Weymouth Center for the   Arts.