13 Ways of Looking at a Man Bird

We will explore, in this workshop, how different poets (ancient & contemporary) dealing with/inspired by the same legend (the flight & fall of Icarus) arrived at drastically distinctive and evocative poems. We will consider the varied techniques/tools used to "tell" this story (or aspects thereof). Specifically, we will explore why (some of) these poems may "work" for/resonate with us while others may not.

Poems for discussion (copies provided) include:

• Conrad Potter Aiken, “A Letter from Li Po”
• Wystan Hugh (W.H.) Auden, “Musée des Beaux Arts”
• Stephen Vincent Benét, “Winged Man”
• Antoinette Brim-Bell, excerpt from “Icarus in Love”
• William James “Billy” Collins, “Musée des Beaux Arts Revisited"
• Erasmus Robert Darwin, “The Death of Icarus”
• Stephen J. Dobyns, “Icarus Flight”
• Jack Gilbert, “Failing and Flying”
• Robert Horan, “Triumph of Icarus”
• Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (Ovid), “The Story of Daedalus and Icarus”
• Muriel Rukeyser, “Waiting for Icarus”
• Anne Sexton, “The Break” & “To My Friend Whose Work Has Come to Triumph”
• William Carlos Williams, “Landscape with the Fall of Icarus”

COVID-19 Health and Safety Guidelines may be found here.

The Mount is a Massachusetts Cultural Council UP designated organization welcoming participants of all disabilities. Please contact The Mount at 413-551-5100 or by email, info@edithwharton.org, to discuss accommodations needed to participate fully in this event.