Monster Mash: Towards a Poetics of Radical Monsterhood

What are we saying when we call something a “monster?” The word itself is

thought to come from the Latin word monstrare, meaning 'to demonstrate'. In this sense, a

monster is quite literally demonstrative—it reveals a deeper truth about a society that unsettles or

challenges its dominant narratives. The monster is an inverted mirror exposing our warped

perceptions, anxieties, and social values. As a result, monstrosity has been applied to dehumanize

and vilify perceived Others based on race, gender, ability, and other socio-cultural factors. At the

same time, monsterhood offers a powerful means by which we might reject and work beyond the

violence of forces like white supremacy, patriarchy, ableism, or heteronormativity. 

In this workshop, we’ll explore the work of poets who have reinvented and repurposed classic monster

narratives for their own radical ends. We’ll craft poems that write against as well as through the

tropes and values embodied by our favorite creatures to reach a poetics or self-determination and

liberation.