Workshop: Who are "You": Exploring the Direct Address in Poetry with grace (ge) gilbert
We are taught in school that pronouns need an antecedent: something to clarify who exactly we are talking to or about. But is this always the case in our poetics? Sometimes, the word “you” is like the word “god”—we are pointing to something larger, painting with broader strokes. Sometimes the “you” is an unnameable or
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dangerous presence, or maybe an ephemeral one. So how do we harness the direct address honestly, in response to what our poems are asking of us? How do we resist the urge to over-explicate? In this six-week, generative workshop, we will complicate our understanding of the direct address through theory, model poems, and weekly workshops of our own original writing. We will discuss the direct address, explore weekly expansive and immersive prompts related to our readings, and discover together what it means to hail the “you” in a poem. Students of all experience levels are encouraged to take this course. Remote 6-Week Workshop | 6 Tuesdays | October 20 – November 24 | 7-9pm ET | $360 ($320 for Members) This remote class will take place on Zoom. The Zoom link will be emailed to you by a staff member in the week leading up to the class start date. All are welcome, space is limited. A limited number of need-based scholarships are available. Please email support@poetshouse.org with any questions. By attending or participating in this program, you agree to abide by our Community Agreement. About the Educator: grace (ge) gilbert (they/them) is a poet, writer and collage artist. they received their MFA in poetry from the University of Pittsburgh in 2022, where they now teach. they are the author of Holly (YesYes Books, 2026), a hybrid image and text book about the 1976 murder of their paternal grandmother, as well as three chapbooks. their work can be found in 2023’s Best of the Net Anthology, the Indiana Review, Ninth Letter, Kenyon Review, Iowa Review, Adroit and elsewhere. they teach hybrid collage and poetics courses at Brooklyn Poets and the Minnesota Center for Book Arts and have taught courses at various other poetry and art institutions.