Phanopticon: Reimagining the Ubiquity of "Image" in the Poetic Idea with Tracie Morris

Fri, October 17, 2025 3:00 PM - Fri, October 17, 2025 4:15 PM at B210/310 Wells Hall, 619 Red Cedar Rd., East Lansing

Presented in partnership with the MSU Creative Writing Program

 

In this interdisciplinary presentation, Tracie Morris will look at different approaches to the concept of meaningfulness within and outside of the scope of "imagery," often perceived as the primary indicator of a "good" poetic work. How far can we consider a poetic strategy that includes and/or goes beyond this criterion for valued work?

 

This presentation is the 2025 HYPHENS Lecture: Living/Breathing/Writing Annual Series, presented by the Creative Writing Program, Michigan State University.

 

 

Tracie Morris has performed, researched and presented work in close to 40 countries and on every continent except Antarctica (so far).  Her installations and performances have been featured at many national and international museums and galleries.

She has presented poetry, performance art, acting, academic addresses, talks, and live shows with music in many venues, including colleges and universities throughout New York, the US and the world.

Her most recent poetry collection is human/nature poems (Litmus Press, 2023). 

She has an MFA in Creative Writing -Poetry from Hunter College, a PhD in Performance Studies from New York University and studied acting technique at Michael Howard Studios in New York and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, London. She has also been a professor for over 25 years at renowned institutions of higher education including the Iowa Writers' Workshop. 

In 2021 she was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship for poetry.