The Poem as Therapy: Channeling Grief and Joy, Love and Anger With Pat Mottola on Tuesday, Oct. 28th from 7 to 8:30 pm

From the ancient wisdom of philosophers and mystics to modern psychotherapy practices, poetry has long been recognized as a powerful tool for gaining self-awareness, processing emotions, and promoting psychological healing. By engaging both mind and heart, the creative process tapped by poetry can be a transformative force. Learn how poets infuse controlled emotion to create power and passion in writing.

About the Instructor:

Award-winning poet and Pushcart Prize nominee, Pat Mottola teaches Creative Writing at Southern Connecticut State University, where she earned both an M.S. in Art Education and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing. In addition to working with students at SCSU, she is thrilled to teach both art and poetry to Senior Citizens in person and online throughout Connecticut. Her work is published in journals across the country, including War, Literature & the Arts, Connecticut Review, Main Street Rag, San Pedro River Review, VietNow Magazine, and Paterson Literary Review. She has served as Keynote Speaker for the MPAC-Young Writers Awards as well as judged Connecticut High School Poetry Out Loud competitions. Pat is President of the Connecticut Poetry Society and served as editor of Connecticut River Review from 2012–2017. On a global scale, she mentors Afghan women writers living in Afghanistan and beyond, resulting in a collection of poems in English, Maybe I Should Fly, by two Afghan sisters who lived under the Taliban regime. She is the author of three collections of poetry: Under the Red Dress, After Hours, and A Town Like That. Pat was the recipient of the prestigious CSCU system-wide Board of Regents Outstanding Teacher Award in 2019, as well as the J. Philip Smith Outstanding Teacher Award in 2021. Pat is the Poet Laureate of Cheshire, CT.