After a disaster like Hurricane Matthew, communities can find comfort in poetry and conversations that speak to their shared experience and shared loss. Natural disasters can stir-up strong emotions, which are often put on the back burner as communities address the physical setbacks in their communities. This workshop will focus on healing through reading, writing, and dialogue. Poet Kimberly Simms will share poems on disaster and lead a short writing exercise to provide a medium for dialogue in small groups. Attendees will be encouraged to find a sense of community through discussion of their own writing and experiences through the lens of poetry. Attendees do not need any writing experience, but they are welcomed to bring any of their own writing about Hurricane Matthew.

About our instructor:

Kimberly Simms is the 2016 Carl Sandburg National Historic Site Writer-in-Residence. She started her poetry career in her twenties as a regional poetry slam champion. Today, she continues to walk the line between the stage and the page. She has been featured on TEDX, Turner South, BBC4, and SCETV’s Your Day. Her work has appeared in the Asheville Poetry Review, Aji Magazine, Millennium Sampler of SC Poetry, Poem, South Carolina Poetry Review, and many more. She has received poetry awards from groups including Kakalak, the York County Arts Council, and the South Carolina Poetry Society. Simms has been nominated for a 2018 Pushcart prize. Her work is included in the South Carolina Poetry Archives at Furman University. She is a native of Greenville, South Carolina. She currently lives in the mountains of South Carolina.

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