Conference Conundrums

Summer writing conferences abound—how to choose one and what to submit.

Photo by Marcos Luiz Photograph on Unsplash

To be honest, I have not attended many conferences over the years, primarily because of financial and familial constraints, but I have been to a few and I often get reports from peers and students about their experiences. I am regularly asked 1. Which conferences are worth the money? 2. What to submit to a workshop (particularly one with a big-name poet).

Before I get to answering those questions, I am thrilled to be teaching a couple of craft seminars at LitFest 2023 (Lighthouse Writers Workshop, see the bottom of this post). I am also attending a workshop there. I’ve been practicing poetry for thirty years and teaching it for twenty. I still love learning, gathering, metabolizing, evolving. I hope I never give up a student’s mindset because that’s what keeps my creative life vibrant.

So, yes, I certainly think conferences have value. But they do come at a cost, so unless you’re extremely carefree with funds, I recommend a highly selective approach. 

Is _______ conference worth the spend?

What makes or breaks a conference experience? It always comes down to the people—authors and attendees. 

Bottom line, it’s impossible to gauge the value a conference will have for you from the event marketing. If possible, talk to people who have attended in the past. In addition to the cost of attending, the desirability of the location, and any featured authors/speakers/workshop leaders, consider:

Event format: Does the conference offer what you most need right now to support your writing practice? Are you seeking ideas, inspiration? Or direct feedback on your creative work? Access to agents or business advice? Does the conference offer anything beyond the experience of hearing big authors talk about big ideas and their work?

The level of experience of attendees: Does the conference cater to your level of experience? Will you meet others in similar stages of the writer’s journey who are asking similar questions about craft, creative process, or publishing? 

The event’s approach to inclusivity and community building: How diverse are the authors/speakers and other attendees? Ask around if you can: What sort of community do they create? What’s the vibe? Is it hierarchical and exclusive? Or welcoming and accepting of a wide variety of voices?

Workshops with big-name authors

First, I do recommend choosing events and workshops with poets whose work you admire. But that doesn’t mean they have to be big names. Maybe you’ve recently read a regional author who is inspiring you to look more closely at your connection to place. Maybe you’d enjoy a fresh take on craft from an up-and-coming poet from a different generation. 

If you are given an opportunity to work with a “big-name” poet, temper your expectations. It doesn’t mean you’ll walk away with a life-long connection with that author. It does mean you’ll have an opportunity to refresh your approach to poem-making with the insights they bring to talks or workshops. Ask around. Who is good to work with? Have any friends worked with _______ in the past? What was their experience?

You know this, but I’m going to say it anyway: Fame is a poor predictor of a writer’s ability to inspire and further your process. I don’t get too worked up over big names. I’ve been lucky to work with some, but I have learned as much (if not more) from getting into the grit of the poetic process with my students as I have from any workshop. That said, I do really enjoy encountering the ecosystem of an admired poet’s mind, learning about their process, their approach.

The thing is, the work is always the work. I don’t expect miracles. I expect to gather insights and do more work. I won’t get a golden key to “fix” a poem from a workshop but I do expect to learn how to enter/reenter the poetic process as much as how to evolve the poem. 

What to submit

Should you submit brand new poems or work that is more refined? I recommend leaning toward the latter. Choose semi-polished work that is still in process. Look for poems in which you have found the gravitational center and uncovered the vital language of the poem. 

Why? Although it’s tempting to submit less processed poems so that a workshop can help you find that gravitational center, it usually doesn’t lead to a satisfying outcome. You might get adequate first-blush feedback but won’t be able to apply the workshop’s comments to furthering the poem’s essential vision and qualities. Worst case, you get thrown way off course in the poem’s development.

Submit poems that risk something. Maybe you’ve taken a radical turn in your approach to form or there’s a poetic voice emerging that is intriguing but still mysterious to you. Which of your poems represent a personal frontier? For the workshop I’m attending, I took this approach. I’m curious to learn what readers will do with poems that are still a little strange to me. 

Above all, stay curious and kind out there. 

Are you attending a conference or workshop this summer? Have advice? Share your thoughts in the comments.

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Upcoming Events

Craft Seminars at LitFest 2023

The Poetic Line: From Breath to Lineation (June 11)

The Anatomy of a Standout Manuscript (June 13)

Note: Both seminars are at the Lighthouse Writers Workshop in Denver (not virtual).

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Poet to Poet Community

The Poets Circle: Drop-in Conversations

MAY: Flow & Modulation—On Variation

May 17, 12-1pm MT, Zoom

How do you invite variation into your manuscript? How do the authors you admire work with the principle of variation?

JUNE: The Shapes of Things—On Form

June 7, 6-7pm MT & June 21, 12-1pm MT, Zoom

How do you work with the principle of form in your poems and in your manuscript? Is form a generative force, a guiding principle for revision, or both?