Kimberly Simms Leads a Workshop at the Pat Conroy Literary Center

Talking to Disaster: 

Responding to Hurricane Matthew through Poetry

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. 

Reflection:

We had a great group of attendees at the Talking to Disaster Workshop: Sponsored by the Pat Conroy Literary Center. We shared poems and discussed how they related to our own feelings and experiences in the Hurricane. We wrote some poetic sketches and discussed poems by other poets on the subject of Hurricane Matthew. It was a deep and meaningful discussion.

Disasters can be so unsettling and disorientating even months later. It was a wonderful opportunity to feel connected to other people and reflect on our emotions.