Upcoming Kundiman Events:

Frankenstein Your Darlings
with Eddie Kim

June 3rd–July 22nd
Thursdays, 6:00 PM–8:30 PM ET

“Even a poem can crave some semblance of balance. If the images are only fantastical, it can lose its humanity. If the images are too grounded, it can lose its sense of exploration and wonder. A poem is a place where reality and wonder can reside together, where they can become interchangeable.”
–– Eddie Kim, The Rupture: “‘We Drive in Circuitous Routes’: An Interview with Eddie Kim” 

What do we do with our darlings once we’ve severed them from their originating sources? A common practice is Frankensteining lines, stanzas, or whole—but unfinished—poems together to create a new piece. Frankensteining can help create unexpected turns, jumps, and connections, it can offer a new perspective and life for lines that you like but can’t find a place for.

In this 8-week poetry workshop, we will explore how to salvage the spare parts we collect over months and years. By studying the work of Jane Wong, Rick Barot, Michelle Peñaloza, Hannah Sanghee Park, Matthew Olzmann, and others, this workshop will practice different ways of creating connections between our darlings and the unexpected.

Reading List:

Matthew Olzmann’s “Mountain Dew Commercial Disguised as a Love Poem”
Eddie Kim’s “Tidying”
Matthew Olzmann’s “The Love Story”
Jane Wong’s “Everything”
Michelle Peñaloza’s “Constellation”
Rick Barot’s “Ode with Interruptions”
Hannah Sanghee Park’s “Qilin in August”

eligibility:

This workshop is open to Asian American writers, and students must be able to attend all 8 sessions of the workshop. The non-refundable tuition fee is $495. This workshop will be limited to 12 participants and will be held over Zoom. There is one scholarship spot available, and the application is open through Thursday, May 13th.

Registration for this class is now closed.