WORKSHOP OFFERINGS

Everyone has a story worth sharing, whether you know it or not. It’s a matter of discovering what you have to say and pulling the poem out of it. This workshop is designed to help uncover the poem within you and let the ideas take up space on the page. You may be surprised by what you can craft!

Life has a way of throwing heavy stuff our way, and it's our job to find ways to manage our
mental health through it all. This workshop walks you through methods for writing poetry as a coping tool. From free writing and responding to prompts to observing your situation and trying a poetic form, poetry can help you process and manage your emotions through the heaviness.

You know that sensation you get when you’re experiencing writer’s block – that blank mind or overly active mind, that inability to get the words out or get in the zone? That sensation is telling you something. This workshop explains how writer's block is part of the process, shares tips for getting out of your rut, and helps you put it into practice.

Have you ever felt like you were holding yourself back out of fear of not being supported? If you're willing to open your mind to your dream life, this workshop will explore tools on how you can best listen to yourself and will share living proof that writing your own life is, in fact, possible.

You've written your poem. You're happy with it. Perhaps it's been published too. But now you've been asked to share that poem out loud for an audience. How do you prepare for that? This workshop will help you lean into your natural voice, walk you through tips for performing (not just reading) your poem, and provide space for you to put it into practice.

With various approaches, storylines, and interpretations, crafting a poetry manuscript around a theme isn't as easy as it seems -- but it can be just as fun as writing the poems themselves. This hands-on workshop identifies steps you can take from start to finish in building a manuscript as well as how to choose your approach at each step.

If we as leaders want people to be open with us, we must create an atmosphere that welcomes vulnerability from everyone, including ourselves. This workshop explores three keys to building brave spaces: the way your people are introduced to you, the way you respond to the things they share with you, and the way you showcase your own vulnerability. This workshop helps us identify our comfort level with vulnerability, recognize we can be both professional and human, and gain practical tips for building brave spaces.

Too often, poets segment our genre into "traditional page poetry" and "modern spoken word poetry," believing we are one or the other. This creates a divide and only grows the disconnect between page and stage poets. Join Kelsey Bigelow, a poet living in the spectrum between both styles, as she guides us through how to bridge this gap and learn how each style informs the other.