The Virtual Writer's Guide to Lit Fest 2023

Below you'll find the complete guide to everything virtual at Lit Fest 2023, curated specifically for the online audience so you can find exactly the right fit for you. Choose intensives, seminars, and events á la carte or sign up for one of our festival passes for the full experience. A note on class format: courses marked “Virtual” are held entirely via Zoom. All participants and the instructor will be attending virtually. Virtual courses are fully participatory. Courses marked “Livestream” will be available virtually as an option, but there will be many attendees in person, and the instructor will be lecturing in person. Participation is more limited in this format, though moderators will do their best to relay questions from the chat.

Two-Day Intensives

June 10-11

In Memoriam: Poetry and Grief (Virtual)
Toby Altman, 9:00am - 12:00pm
This course will introduce writers to one of the most important poetic genres: the elegy. We'll explore some famous, canonical examples of the genre, like John Milton's "Lycidas," to get a sense of how it has traditionally worked—and what its shortcomings are. And we'll study contemporary poets who rework the elegy: making the old form new again—and newly relevant to the griefs of the present, from the AIDS crisis to Black Lives Matter.

June 14-15

Outsider Poets (Virtual)
Elizabeth Robinson, 4:00 - 7:00pm
We’ll use outsider poets as inspiration—John Clare, Jean Toomer, Besmilr Brigham, and dg nanouk okpik—to draw inspiration from poets working outside conventional educational, cultural, or stylistic norms. Using poems by these authors, we’ll claim permission for creative rule-breaking of all sorts! All levels of experience are welcome in this generative study and writing intensive.

Craft Seminars

Friday, June 9
Morning Session (9:00 to 11:00 AM MDT)

Afternoon Session (1:30 to 3:30 PM MDT)

Saturday, June 10

Morning Session (9:00 to 11:00 AM MDT)

Afternoon Session (1:30 to 3:30 PM MDT)

Early Evening Session (4:00 to 6:00 PM MDT)

Sunday, June 11

Morning Session (9:00 to 11:00 AM MDT)

Afternoon Session (1:30 to 3:30 PM MDT)

Monday, June 12

Early Evening Session (4:00 to 6:00 PM)

Tuesday, June 13

Afternoon Session (1:30 to 3:30 PM MDT)

Early Evening Session (4:00 to 6:00 PM MDT)

Wednesday, June 14

Afternoon Session (1:30 to 3:30 PM MDT)

Early Evening Session (4:00 to 6:00 PM MDT)

Thursday, June 15

Morning Session (9:00 to 11:00 AM MDT)

Afternoon Session (1:30 to 3:30 PM MDT)

Early Evening Session (4:00 to 6:00 PM MDT)

Friday, June 16

Afternoon Session (1:30 to 3:30 PM MDT)