Convention and Craft: A Conversation with Terrance Hayes

Terrance Hayes (New York University)
Phil Memmer (YMCA Downtown Writers Center)

All poets must, in some way, confront the long tradition of the art; decisions of whether, why, and how to work within (or against) the conventions of poetic form remain as central to contemporary poets as they have been to every generation of writers since at least the Modernists. These decisions–perhaps now more than ever, given our current cultural moment–go far beyond simple questions of taste, style, or the pleasures the poetic tradition may provide. For many poets, the choice to use (or reject, or adapt) received poetic models may be connected to concerns about colonization, race, gender, privilege, and other societal issues.

In this craft discussion moderated by Phil Memmer, acclaimed poet and National Book Award winner Hayes discusses how he, and other poets, have used, recycled, expanded, and exploded poetic conventions–especially traditional form–for their own artistic purposes.

This event is part of Syracuse Symposium’s year-long series on “Conventions.”