Writing workshops led by four distinguished North and South Carolina poets will be part of Lanier Library’s Poetry Festival, a month-long celebration of verse in April, National Poetry Month. Some workshops do require registration and interested writers are encouraged to contact the library as soon as possible to ensure a seat.

Author and poet John Lane of Spartanburg will kick the month off with his workshop, “Using Description as a Medium for Intensity in Nature or Eco-Poetry.” Participants will explore and discuss the use of descriptive language in several eco-poems and complete an in-class assignment. This workshop will be held Friday, April 1, at 1 p.m. There is a fee and registration is limited to 12.

Former N.C. Poet Laureate Cathy Smith Bowers returns to the library on Friday, April 8, with “Who Says Tension Is a Bad Thing?” Participants will be given instructive and sensitive feedback on their own poems with an emphasis on the element of tension as expressed in feeling, story, language and line. This workshop lasts from 2 to 5 p.m. and requires pre-registration, including the submission of three original poems by March 25. The workshop is limited to 10 participants and there is a fee.

Poet Harry Goodheart’s “Joy of Writing Haiku” workshop will introduce participants to ancient Japanese masters as well as contemporary poets as they write their own traditional and contemporary haiku. This free workshop is open to all ages and skill levels and will be held Friday, April 15, from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.

On Sunday, April 17, Kathy Ackerman, poet and past presenter at Lanier Library’s Poetry Festivals, will offer “Tiny Volumes: The Resurgence of the Chapbook.” Participants will consider the popularity of chapbooks in today’s literary marketplace. No registration for this workshop is required, but there is a fee for participation. It will be held at 2 p.m.

All of the workshops will be held at Lanier Library located at 72 Chestnut Street in Tryon. For more information about these workshops or to register, please email thelanierlibrary@gmail.com or call 828-859-9535.

For information about the many other library events planned in celebration of National Poetry Month, or about becoming a member of North Carolina’s only remaining membership library, please visit www.lanierlib.org.

-Submitted by Gina Malone