Taking inspiration from Jerome Rothenberg’s seminal anthology Technicians of the Sacred, they’ll follow his ethnographic study of poetry from around the world, to see how the individuals who used poetry in ancient times – whether as hexes, invocations, rituals, hymns, or spells – were thought to possess great power. They’ll read from the earliest known author and Sumerian High Priestess, Enheduanna, who used poetry to communicate with the gods, and the sixteenth-century friar Giordano Bruno, who was burnt alive for asserting an infinite universe in his poems. They’ll also read from contemporary poets writing in magical ways, including Aleister Crowley, Dorothea Laskey, and Rebecca Tamás, amongst others, to how see techniques like structure, symbolism, and sound have been used throughout time to charm, conjure, and curse. Over the course of the day, participants will complete a number of writing exercises and experiments.