Poetry is (Not) Like a Prayer July 6, 2026 By Event Details Date: Monday, Jul 6th, 2026, 9:30 am Categories: Writing Workshop When we use a simile, we say that something is like — but not identical to — something else. So the writers of Gilgamesh describe the hungry gods swarming around the ark after the flood “like flies”. Like. But also not like. Poetry and Prayer are sometimes compared to each other fruitfully, and other times the comparison falls short. Most prayers are addressed to a ‘you’; some poems are too, but in a different way. Many prayers make use of a received syntax to say something old in a new way, with, perhaps, a recognizable object of desire. Many poems seek to use surprising syntax to say something different. This workshop will examine prayers and poems, exploring form, desire and address, and employ these explorations in daily creative writing prompts. The outcome will depend on the writer: poems, prayers, liturgies, spells, anti-liturgies, curses, blessings, invictives and invitations. The Collegeville Institute will cover most travel expenses to and from the workshop within the continental United States, all workshop fees, and room and board. International travel costs, and travel from Hawaii and Alaska may be shared between the Collegeville Institute and the workshop participant. Those who join the workshop will be expected to reside at the Collegeville Institute throughout the entire term. Leader Bio: Pádraig Ó Tuama When BBC journalist William Crawley introduced Pádraig on the stage to deliver a TEDx talk on Story, Crawley said, “He’s probably the best public speaker I know.” Profiling Ó Tuama in The New Yorker, journalist and poet Eliza Grizwold wrote “Poetry, for him, is the language the heart speaks not when it reaches for some externalized divinity but when it seeks to understand itself.” Photo Credit – Trevor Brady Who May Apply? All levels of writers are welcome to apply to this workshop. Application Process: Applications due by . Apply here.
