Speaking for Earth: Poetry Reading & Workshop with Hila Ratzabi
Tuesday, December 3, 6:00–8:00 pm
Secret World Books1774 2nd Street Highland Park, IL 60035
How can we express our concern, grief, and awe for this fragile planet that we call our home? Poetry can train us to listen deeply to the voices of the earth. Poet Hila Ratzabi will read from her award-winning debut book of poetry, There Are Still Woods, which is described as “a radiant appraisal of life at the precipice of climate crisis and a haunting elegy for all we stand to lose.” She will then offer a generative poetry workshop, where we will read and discuss environmental poems, engage in writing exercises, and share our drafts with the group. All are welcome – no writing experience necessary. Sliding scale of $20-$40. Please choose your amount in that range when you purchase your ticket.
Writing Poems for the Earth: An Ecopoetry Workshop
Asynchronous class
Hudson Valley Writers Center, $124
What does it feel like to be a human on earth during the climate crisis? How can we find the words to express our concern, grief, and awe for this fragile planet that we call our home? In this generative, interactive workshop, we will trace the evolution of nature poetry from the Romantic tradition to what we now call “ecopoetry,” a poetry that interrogates the relationship between the human and non-human, shifting the human gaze to make room for other voices and perspectives. We will read poems that respond to the climate crisis and that explore the intersection of race and identity with experiences of nature. We’ll read works by Lucille Clifton, Ed Roberson, Camille Dungy, Juliana Spahr, Forrest Gander, John Clare, John Keats, Denise Levertov, Inger Christensen, and Brenda Hillman. After soaking in these voices, we will then engage in writing exercises based on the works we read. Becoming deeply attentive to our environment, to its creatures and plants, to the places where human and nature meet, we will write our own poems and then share our discoveries with the group.
This recorded class is available to rent for two weeks through a private YouTube link. The link will be sent to the email you use to enroll (check your spam).
2024 yetzirah Jewish Poetry Conference: Offsite Workshops with Hila Ratzabi
The following workshops were open to the public as part of the Yetzirah Jewish Poetry Conference, taking place in person only, in Asheville, NC, July 1–7, 2024.
Tuesday, July 2: 9:00–11:50 am
Writing the Earth’s Torah
The Jewish literary and liturgical canons are filled with images of nature as a living expression of the Divine. We will read translations of Jewish prayers alongside contemporary Jewish poetry that give voice to the language of nature. We will then engage in writing exercises that invite us to tune into the earth around us and hear its call.
Wednesday, July 3: 9:00–11:50 am
Living Letters: Writing Jewish Mystical Poetry
The Jewish mystical tradition sees the Hebrew alphabet as the building blocks of the universe. Language is a potent, alchemical tool of creation. We will read translations of texts from the Jewish mystical tradition alongside modern and contemporary poetry to inspire our own linguistic experiments.
Friday, July 5: 9:00–11:50 am
Seeking Peace through Poetry: Reading Palestinian and Israeli Poets
During this deeply painful time of war, poetry can help us pick up the broken pieces of our world. We will read Palestinian and Israeli poets who express the human cost of war, the heartbreak of loss, and the longing for home. Among the poets we will read and discuss are Mosab Abu Toha, a Gazan poet who has suffered greatly during this war, and Amiram Cooper (z”l), an Israeli poet who was taken hostage from Kibbutz Nir Oz and died in captivity. We will engage in writing exercises that offer space to contemplate our own relationships to this fraught moment.
Let’s work together!
I am available to travel and lead workshops on ecopoetry, ranging from single-session to multi-session workshops. See my events page for upcoming programs.
Below are examples of workshops I have taught that can be modified for different settings, both in person and online.
Please email redsofasalon@gmail.com to discuss.
Speaking for Earth: An Ecopoetry Walk
One 90-minute to 2-hour session, in person
“Each and every grass has a song” – Rebbe Nachman of Bratslav
We are living on a fragile and sacred planet that needs us to speak on its behalf. What happens when we attune ourselves to the songs of the grass, the trees, and the creatures that share our world? The act of reading and writing poetry can train us to listen deeply to the voices of the earth. We will come together for a nature poetry walk. We will read a selection of environmental poems that will open us up to different ways of speaking for the earth. Then we’ll take a walk and engage in writing exercises inspired by the landscape. Bring a notebook, pen, and an open mind. All are welcome – no writing experience necessary.
Testimonials
“Hila bridged the natural world with the literary one in her ecopoetry program in the woods she created for my organization. Our participants appreciated her depth of preparedness and breadth of poetry that she shared with us. We were grateful for the touchstone she provided for us to have the opportunity to experience and write. It was a meaningful program, and Hila executed it with grace, modesty, and intelligence. Hila’s ecopoetry program transpired into an opening for our community. Because of her innovative program, we then went on to establish a Jewish Mindfulness in Nature program, in the same woods we met with Hila, which has been very grounding and uplifting for the community.”
Glenna Lee, Sisterhood President, Westchester Jewish Center
“I appreciated stepping out of my everyday life into the forest and exploring with you how poetry and nature complement each other; you showed us how, when we slow down, both can enable us to notice small moments and phenomena we miss when going about our daily activities. I loved the shift in perspective I experienced from your workshop. Reading (and writing) poetry and observing (and reflecting on) nature all require an inner patience that can be nurtured and developed; your ecopoetry walk gave us a template for doing just that.”
Amy Fastenberg, participant in “Speaking for Earth: An Ecopoetry Walk”
Songs of the Grass: Exploring Jewish Ecopoetry
Six 90-minute sessions, in person or online
“Each and every grass has a song” – Rebbe Nachman of Bratslav
The Jewish environmental movement has sought to excavate and breathe new life into ancient texts that call us to right relationship with this fragile and holy earth. Jewish poets vividly describe the human encounter with plants, animals, and the elements where they often find intimations of the Divine or cause for protest on behalf of the non-human world. Together we’ll read poetry and other Jewish writings that will inspire our own experiments with ecopoetry. Some poets we will read include Marge Piercy, Muriel Rukeyser, Alicia Ostriker, Adrienne Rich, Denise Levertov, Stanley Moss, Stuart Kestenbaum, Phillip Levine, Mónica Gomery, and more! We’ll engage in writing exercises, some of which will take us outside to our local environments to allow us to listen to, and translate, the voices of the earth. You will come away with a deepened appreciation for Jewish wisdom on the environment and a number of poem drafts that will help you envision your personal Torah of the earth.
“Songs of the Grass: Exploring Jewish Ecopoetry was a powerful class for me to take when I was working on a project related to climate justice and responding with bravery to emotions around climate change. Looking at these issues through a Jewish lens added depth to my writing and thinking. Hila created a thoughtful and engaged community in the course, and sessions included rich discussion of source texts followed by writing exercises that were both generative and nourishing.”
Elisa McCool, participant in Songs of the Grass
Writing Poems for the Earth: An Ecopoetry Workshop
Six 90-minute sessions, in person or online
What does it feel like to be a human on earth during the climate crisis? How can we find the words to express our concern, grief, and awe for this fragile planet that we call our home? In this generative, interactive workshop, we will trace the evolution of nature poetry from the Romantic tradition to what we now call “ecopoetry,” a poetry that interrogates the relationship between the human and non-human, shifting the human gaze to make room for other voices and perspectives. We will read poems that respond to the climate crisis and that explore the intersection of race and identity with experiences of nature. We’ll read works by Lucille Clifton, Ed Roberson, Camille Dungy, Juliana Spahr, Forrest Gander, John Clare, John Keats, Denise Levertov, Inger Christensen, and Brenda Hillman. Depending on the setting, we will also go on poetry walks, where the landscape will be our muse. Becoming deeply attentive to our environment, to its creatures and plants, to the places where human and nature meet, we will write our own poems and then share our discoveries with the group.