On July 15, KSPS members gathered virtually for the launch of our summer craft talk series—a bold new chapter in our Kentucky Voices programming. Led by poet and professor Trish Jaggers, One of These Things Is/Isn’t True: Negation in Poetry invited attendees to consider the power of absence, contradiction, and fragmented meaning as essential tools in the poetic toolbox.
In an hour that felt both quiet and electric, Trish guided us not through a traditional workshop, but something more like a doorway. Participants explored how negation—what isn’t said, what’s denied, what’s hidden in the margins—can deepen emotional resonance and open poems to multiple truths. Drawing from poets like Emily Dickinson and her own experience, Trish challenged us to “create nothing, from nothing,” and to trust that something honest and urgent could emerge.
The session unfolded not just as a lesson, but as a kind of poem itself: subtle, complex, unafraid of silence. We left with new questions, new fragments, and perhaps, most importantly, permission to let ambiguity live in our lines.
Thank you to Trish Jaggers for this beautiful beginning. If you missed the live session, a limited recording is available for KSPS members. Stay tuned for our next craft talk in the series:
September 16, 2025 – String Theory: An Exploration of Poetry that Employs Multiple Threads
Hosted by Clay Matthews, this session explores how poets weave seemingly unrelated ideas, voices, or images into a cohesive and compelling whole. Details and registration will be available soon.
Kentucky State Poetry Society 