Cooper Street Workshop: Pens with Benefits

Pens with Benefits explores multifaceted ways to render poetry about desire, intimacy and/or sex. This workshop aims to open lively, inclusive, and generative dialogues about getting comfortable with writing that take these topics as its dominant themes/concerns. There are a lot of external stigmas and internal concerns when it comes to writing about sex, the body, etc.—whether it’s a personal hesitancy to approach this kind of material, unsureness about where/how to start, or not knowing how to do it (no pun intended) in a way that is neither corny or flowery, nor weirdly clinical. We look at more straightforwardly erotic work, but also approaches that aren’t explicit, couple-centric, or even particularly “sexy”. Writing exercises and discussions are framed by illustrative examples—from sensual to silly, profound to profane. The workshops are open to any/all poetry familiarity and experience levels.

This is a one-time, in-person workshop.    Register

$60 General, $10 Camden residents & Rutgers-Camden students

About the instructor: Alina Pleskova is a poet, editor, and Moscow-born immigrant turned proud Philadelphian. Her first full-length poetry collection, Toska, was published by Deep Vellum in June 2023. She co-edits bedfellows magazine and is a 2020 and 2022 Leeway Foundation grant awardee, as well as the author of the chapbook, What Urge Will Save Us (Spooky Girlfriend Press, 2017.) Her writing has appeared in American Poetry Review, swamp pink, Peach Mag, Jewish Currents, the tiny, and elsewhere. More at alinapleskova.com