Why Look at Animals? A generative poetry workshop with Creative Resident Aishvarya Arora

As humans, our senses, vibrant as they may seem, give us access to only a fraction of the world. Animals can see “outside, outside and beyond” what we can; they are “experts of these interstices,” as John Berger writes in Why Look at Animals? From Ovid’s Metamorphoses and Homer’s Iliad to folktales and myths across cultures, encounters with animals have long animated literature and childhood. 

In this class, we’ll explore a selection of classic and contemporary poems featuring animals, using them to consider the stranger dimensions of human-animal relationships, beyond straightforward metaphor, projection, or anthropomorphism. A wide-ranging variety of writing prompts will invite participants to approach language, process, and content in new ways. 

No previous writing experience is necessary. Come curious, bring something to write with, and be prepared to follow language wherever it leads.