Our mission at the Nick Virgilio Writer’s House is “Inspiring Writing. Creating Community.” With our home and namesake all rooting in Camden, New Jersey, we can think of no better way of engaging with that mission then to celebrate Camdens writers, neighbors and history. With that, we invite you to join us on a new eight-part event series, The Camden Ginkos.
In each of these hour-long workshops / nature walks, Camden poets will take us through places of particular inspiration to them. These walks are modeled on haiku ginkos, a Japanese tradition of taking contemplative hikes through nature with the purpose of gathering material for haikus. (For more information on traditional haiku ginkos, take a look at these resources.)
During our 1.5-hour virtual take on the ginko, participants will walk along with our poets and participate in workshops around the sites over Zoom and Facebook Live. Follow along with Camden poets as they walk you through the scenery, history and stories of diverse Camden neighborhoods, all to help you craft poems that celebrate the complexity of the city as it is.
You can submit that work to our ongoing archive of Camden based poems. Each walk is being compiled into a print and digital version for others to participate in into the future.
Each ginko is absolutely free and is supported by generous donations from the Camden County College & Heritage Commission at Camden County College and the New Jersey Council for the Humanities.
To join us in this exciting new project, please register here for one of the following currently scheduled events. Please keep in mind that this event series is only being offered virtually, though it is possible some future versions may be in person. Stay tuned for updates.
We can’t wait to walk with you! See you soon and sign up today!