MFA Alum Simon Wolf Teaches at Hugo House and leads Monthly Writing Circle

This winter Simon Wolf (MFA, 2022) will offer Place Based Poetics: Writing with the Duwamish River, a workshop through Hugo House, an essential literary community in Seattle. The course draws on documentary and ecopoetic work that has preoccupied Wolf for the past three years, including his MFA thesis, Charging. That project drew from Seattle settler history texts, family migration stories, and reflections on urban experiences, with the Duwamish River as a consistent line existing through every element. In his current work he questions his preconceived notions of nature and explores new ways of approaching the Duwamish River through writing, research, and his work in land restoration.

The course considers, “How can we write poems from a river? How can this river be the line that guides us through the violent past of Seattle? Part Seattle history, part eco-poetics, we will read excerpts of history texts and discuss poets that engage rivers, industry, and pollution in their work. Students will practice incorporating research into their poetry, will visit the river at least once, and leave class with two river poems.”

Registration is open, with early bird pricing until Dec. 18th, and scholarships available. Hugo House members receive a discounted rate for the class, which meets in person at Hugo House Tuesdays 5 to 8pm from February 28 through March 21, 2023. Wolf also hosts a free monthly Writing Circle at Blue Cone Studios, on Capitol Hill, in Seattle that meets the last Friday of the month from 6-8pm. Participants are invited to read and discuss poetry, make work together, and to share work in progress—all are welcome!