Everyone has an origin story, and it can be real, fantastical, or a combination of both. Are you a superhero, villain, or observer of your own story? And if you could interview Batman or Superman, what answers would they give? In this craft talk and workshop, participants will explore and generate their own creation myths through direct address, confessional poems, and persona. We will discuss poems by Lucille Clifton, Terrance Hayes, and more.
Cynthia Manick is the author of No Sweet Without Brine (Amistad-HarperCollins, 2023), which received 5 stars from Roxane Gay and was selected as a New York Public Library Best Book of 2023; editor of The Future of Black: Afrofuturism, Black Comics, and Superhero Poetry; winner of the Lascaux Prize in Collected Poetry; and author of Blue Hallelujahs. A storyteller and performer at literary festivals, libraries, universities, and museums, Manick’s work has also featured in VOICES, an audio play by Aja Monet and Eve Ensler’s V-Day, the Academy of American Poets Poem-A-Day Series, Brooklyn Rail, The Rumpus and other outlets. She lives in New York but travels widely for poetry.