The Albuquerque Community Writing Center offers an intellectual Poe-etry treat to replace the sugary goodies this Halloween.
The fledgling writing center, founded in July by UNM graduate students and teachers, is participating in The Big Read, a program promoting literacy funded by the National Endowment for the Arts.
ABQCWC is one of many Albuquerque organizations involved in the program, said Brian Hendrickson, founding co-director of ABQCWC and an English teacher and graduate student at UNM.
Other city events include screenings of Poe-inspired films at the Guild Cinema, children’s book readings and other poetry readings.
ABQCWC offers a free workshop at the main branch of the public library this Saturday featuring poet Gary Jackson. Hendrickson said the poet uses Poe as an inspirational spring board for his more personal writing.
Jackson said his primary goal was generating new work and not specifically on the details of Poe’s writing.
“Poe is ripe for persona, image and voice, since a lot of his poems are about these tragic characters and events,” he said. “I also like the idea of how various media and art influence one another, and I want to take images that were originally inspired by Poe’s literature and use them to inspire new work.”
Jackson said the medium of poetry is intimidating sometimes, and he won’t be emphasizing the macabre aspects of Poe’s writing just because it is Halloween season.
“I probably won’t incorporate any spooky or Halloween-themed elements into the workshop that aren’t already inherently found in Poe’s poetry,” he said. “Besides, I think poetry scares a lot of people away as it is. No sense in adding fuel to that fire.”
ABQCWC originated from UNM graduate students interested in community writing and literacy, Hendrickson said. Now the ABQCWC offers free services for nearly every facet of writing, and Hendrickson said his organization is trying to reach out to all members of the Albuquerque community.
“This isn’t just for novelists and poets, but somebody who wants help on a job application or somebody who needs help on a grant proposal or anything like that, (we also help with) press releases for their business, (or) letters to the editor,” he said. “The idea is to have an actual place where all of that can happen under one roof, so to speak.”
Hendrickson said the organization is different from other literacy and education initiatives because it focuses specifically on writing, as opposed to reading or GED prep. He said it is important to give the community what they want and not approach them with a holier-than-thou attitude.
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“When we’re trying to figure out how to provide a service for somebody, we have to actually listen and adapt rather than going in with the idea of being a crusader or pioneer,” he said. “People don’t need to be saved, they need people to listen to them and figure out how to give them what they need.”
Hendrickson said the center not only wants to offer writing services to Albuquerque’s youth, but wants to involve them in the volunteer tutoring process as well.
Hendrickson said he encourages any community members to volunteer, regardless of age or skill set, because the center isn’t interested necessarily in people who identify themselves primarily as writers, and he said training is provided for anyone interested.
Ultimately, he said the ability to use the written word is imperative to modern interactions.
“We’re at this really crucial time, I think, in our nation’s historical development. It’s never been more important for people to take agency in this process, and you can’t overlook the importance of writing in doing that,” he said. “I think we all feel pretty isolated sometimes, and we feel like nobody’s listening. I think if we’re not constantly figuring out how we’re using language to engage with one another in a productive way, then I don’t know if there’s any real hope.”
Poetry Discussion & Writing Workshop with Gary Jackson
Saturday
2 – 4 p.m.
Main Library
501 Copper Ave N.W.
abqcwc.wordpress.com
