Mask and Muse: Persona Poetry

In Ancient Greek theater, actors wore expressive character masks made of linen and wood that covered their entire heads; these masks acted as resonance chambers to project the actors’ voices. The Latin word for this kind of mask is “persona.” In this session, we’ll explore the persona poem as mask and as muse, examining how writing in the voice of another amplifies our own. We’ll read and discuss pieces by poets such as Lucille Clifton and Shara Lessley, and then break to try the form ourselves before returning to share the resonance of the voices we’ve found with each other.

Join Maria Zoccola in this upcoming workshop!

ABOUT THE PRESENTER

Maria Zoccola is a poet and writer from Memphis, Tennessee. Her work has previously appeared in The Atlantic, Ploughshares, Kenyon Review, The Sewanee Review, and elsewhere, and has received a special mention for the Pushcart Prize. Her debut poetry collection, Helen of Troy, 1993 (Scribner, 2025), was a New York Times Editors’ Choice pick and was named a best book of the year by The New Yorker and NPR.

MEETING INFORMATION

This program will be presented at our upcoming PST meeting, to be held July 11, 2026, from 2:00-4:00 pm Eastern / 1:00-3:00 pm Central via Zoom. Members will be provided a link a few days prior. If you are interested in learning more about PST, check out our website. If you’d like to attend our meeting as a guest, contact us at poetrytennessee@gmail.com.