Poetry Commons^™

"Give 'Em Something To Talk About: Love, Generosity, And Wonder In The Portrait Of The Artist Workshop", Florence Gonsalves, Matthew Vollmer

Journal of Creative Writing Studies

This article argues for the employment of an alternative approach to the traditional writing workshop model called “Portrait of the Artist” (POTA). First, we acknowledge the historical and theoretical underpinnings of the dominant Iowa model, and engage with scholars who practice pedagogies that challenge the “gag-rule.” Second, we introduce POTA, which dismantles and reimagines the foundations of a traditional creative writing workshop by emphasizing curiosity rather than suspicion, dialogue rather than imposed silence, process over product, and person over piece. The outcomes lead us to conclude that POTA workshops are necessary, especially for marginalized student-writers most harmed by antiquated practices …