Mar 2021 Program

Sam Campbell presents

Through the Looking Glass: The Mirroring of Form and Content

Irish author Samuel Beckett wrote that, “Form is content, content is form.” At first glance, the word “form” might bring to mind that of traditional poetic forms—sonnets, sestinas, pantoums. However, Beckett was suggesting a more intimate relationship between form and content, one in which the form itself mirrored the content of the poem.

This workshop will delve into the ways that form and content can mirror one another in poetry, and will showcase various examples. This is a hands-on workshop—expect to try your hand in guided exercises. By the end of this workshop you will be well on your way to mirroring form and content in your own poetry. 

About Sam Campbell

Sam Campbell is a writer and teacher from Tennessee. She earned her Master’s in English from East Tennessee State University where she served as the Editor in Chief of the 47th issue of The Mockingbird literary arts journal. She currently serves Arkansas International as the Social Media Editor, and she also holds editorial roles for Orison Books and The Great Lakes Review. She is both the fiction editor and co-founder of Black Moon Magazine. 

She has published across all genres. Her fiction has appeared in October Hill Magazine, America’s Emerging Literary Writers Anthology, and Unto These Hills. Her poetry has appeared in Pine Tree Poetry and Tennessee’s Emerging Poets Anthology. Her creative nonfiction has appeared in Bloodroot. 

Her awards include the 2019 Mockingbird Fiction Prize, the 2019 James Still Prize for Short Fiction, the 2019 Jesse Stuart Prize for Young Adult Writing, and the 2009 Unto These Hills Fiction Prize. She is currently earning her MFA in Fiction from The University of Arkansas, where she is a Distinguished Fiction Fellow.