About the Classes
This class series is designed to nurture creativity and community among writers of all levels.
At The Poetry Lab, we believe in the transformative power of creative spaces built by poets, for poets. These workshops are more than just writing sessions—they’re opportunities to connect, grow, and discover new ways to express yourself alongside a supportive community. We understand the importance of spaces where creativity thrives, where your voice is valued, and where the collective energy of like-minded individuals inspires everyone to keep writing.
When you attend a BrainTrust session, you’ll start with a short craft talk, followed by guided prompts and in-class writing time. You’ll leave every session with new writing and a renewed sense of inspiration. Each workshop is led by a trusted member of our team, who has been trained in our inclusive and cooperative approach to learning.
We want you to know that you are not alone on your creative journey. The Poetry Lab is a place where writers from all backgrounds and experiences can come together to write, read, learn and collaborate together.
Everyone is welcome here: first-time poets, moms and dads, high school students, architects, professors, restaruant workers, gamers, and artists of all genres and mediums are welcome to attend as long as they are ready to write some new sh*t!
Scroll to enroll 👇
Growing Into a New Home: Hermit Crab Poems
ONE-TIME CLASS
CLASS DESCRIPTIONHermit crabs have evolved to scavenge and occupy abandoned vessels to protect their soft bodies. As they grow, they need to find larger and larger vessels to call home. Hermit crab poems find their homes in traditionally non-poem texts: a crossword puzzle, a text message, a recipe, Ikea decorations, a letter, an obituary, an eye test chart, medical forms, the possibilities are endless. In this workshop, participants will explore the works of Kristen Cussen, Sean Lovelace, KB Brookins, Paul Violi, Soulstuf, and others before experimenting with their own hermit crab creations.
Tuesday, January 14, 2025
5:30pm PT to 7:30pm PT
CLASS CULTURE📹 This class will be recorded. The replay will be available for 30 days after the live session.
👋 This class is held in a live Zoom session, it is not a webinar. You will be able to use the chat, be seen on camera, raise your hand and ask questions to the instructor in real time.
🎉 This class is interactive, student participation is encouraged.
➡ Read more about how we learn.
➡ Understand our Sliding Scale.
INSTRUCTOR BIOAnne Marie Wells (she/they) is an award-winning and Pushcart-nominated poet, playwright, memoirist, and oral storyteller. Her full-length collection Survived By debuted with Curious Corvid Publishing in 2023. In 2024 her chapbook Mother, (v) was published by Cinnamon Press after winning their annual pamphlet contest. She is a freelance copy editor and creative writing instructor. Learn more on her website AnneMarieWellsWriter.com
Shall I Compare Thee to a Love Poem?
ONE-TIME CLASS
CLASS DESCRIPTIONIn this lovely workshop, we will explore works of Gabrielle Calvocoressi, Li-Young Lee, Matthew Olzmann, and others to discover how contemporary poets write about love. Learn to write past cliches of adoration and woo your loved ones in surprising ways. In this 2-hour generative workshop, we will encounter themes of tenderness, acceptance, and chosen family.
Tuesday, February 11, 2025
5:30pm PT to 7:30pm PT
CLASS CULTURE📹 This class will be recorded. The replay will be available for 30 days after the live session.
👋 This class is held in a live Zoom session, it is not a webinar. You will be able to use the chat, be seen on camera, raise your hand and ask questions to the instructor in real time.
🎉 This class is interactive, student participation is encouraged.
➡ Read more about how we learn.
➡ Understand our Sliding Scale.
INSTRUCTOR BIOKaren Zheng is a queer, Chinese-American poet and writer. Her poetry has been featured in Sine Theta Magazine, Honey Literary, Benningham Review, Harbor Review and elsewhere. She has received fellowships from the Breadloaf Writers’ Conference, Roots. Wounds. Words, Chicago Storystudio, The Poetry Lab, and Inprint MD Anderson Foundation. She has been a finalist for Harbor Review’s Washburn Chapbook Prize and has been nominated for the Best of the Net Awards. Find out more about her at https://www.karenzheng.com.
Poetry as Testimony: Healing Through the Written Word
ONE-TIME CLASS
CLASS DESCRIPTIONIn this class, we’ll delve into poetry as a powerful form of testimony, exploring the roles of the poet as confronter, guidepost, and cultivator. Drawing inspiration from bell hooks' All About Love: New Visions, we will examine how our voices as poets can create ripples through time and space, contributing to both personal and collective healing journeys. Through engaging discussions and guided prompts, you will discover how to harness the transformative power of poetry as a tool for connection and self-expression. You’ll develop your unique narrative and feel empowered to navigate your own stories while inspiring others in the process.
Tuesday, March 11, 2025
5:30pm PT to 7:30pm PT
CLASS CULTURE📹 This class will be recorded. The replay will be available for 30 days after the live session.
👋 This class is held in a live Zoom session, it is not a webinar. You will be able to use the chat, be seen on camera, raise your hand and ask questions to the instructor in real time.
🎉 This class is interactive, student participation is encouraged.
➡ Read more about how we learn.
➡ Understand our Sliding Scale.
INSTRUCTOR BIOKeimahney Carlisle is a writer, poet, and advocate for creative expression based in Philadelphia, originally from California. She holds a B.S. in Business Administration with a minor in Multicultural Leadership Studies, a foundation that supports her work in fostering creativity and social engagement. A former Get LitWords Ignite Fellow, Keimahney went on to serve two years as an AmeriCorps member with City Year Philadelphia, where she guided young learners and developed her commitment to equitable education. As a Community Engagement Fellow with The Poetry Lab, she contributed to programming, content creation, and collaborative workshops that fostered spaces for vulnerability and growth through writing. Keimahney’s work sits at the intersection of artistry and advocacy, with a mission to grow community through expression, dialogue, and creativity.
Let’s make it official!
Ready to make the BrainTrust an official part of your creative practice?
For just $35/month, your VIP Membership sustains The Poetry Lab's accessibility mission while also providing you with automatic access to our monthly BrainTrust workshops—no need to sign up each time. You'll also enjoy exclusive discounts on courses and members-only events, all designed to help you build a consistent, sustainable writing practice. Join today and become a Very Important Poet!
The Poem’s Body: Constructing 3-Dimensional Poems
ONE-TIME CLASS
CLASS DESCRIPTION'The page' is our basic interface for poetry, as it is our most common 'frame' for sharing/publishing poetry. From poetry's oral tradition to the written page, poets continue to take leaps and bounds alongside technology and the possibilities in print media. To inhabit these liminal spaces poets invent new forms, occupying 'the page' in revolutionary ways.
Jubi Arriola-Headley, Diana Khoi Nguyen, and Douglas Kearney are such poets! And today we will spend time with their invented forms: [this is not] a white space: folded FAQ poems, Gyotaku poetry, and palimpsest-ias, are expert examples of how language continues to transform through poetry.
Tuesday, April 8, 2025
5:30pm PT to 7:30pm PT
CLASS CULTURE📹 This class will be recorded. The replay will be available for 30 days after the live session.
👋 This class is held in a live Zoom session, it is not a webinar. You will be able to use the chat, be seen on camera, raise your hand and ask questions to the instructor in real time.
🎉 This class is interactive, student participation is encouraged.
➡ Read more about how we learn.
➡ Understand our Sliding Scale.
rELATED RESOURCESINSTRUCTOR BIOKelsey Bryan-Zwick (she/they) is a Pushcart Prize Winning author for a poem from their debut book of poems, Here Go the Knives (Moon Tide Press 2022). This collection is part memoir, part magical realism, part illustration and focuses on their decades surviving with debilitating scoliosis. Here Go the Knives is a gothic depiction of early surgeries that makes itself available for the young reader. As Assistant Director of The Poetry Lab Kelsey has helped develop an accessible workshop model and continues to tend to this literary hub of online community for independent poet-scholars throughout the world. A multi-modal creative, Kelsey is a prize winning short story writer and poetry video maker and her essays appear regularly in The Poetry Lab's Resource Center. An enthusiastic poetry workshop leader, they are also a lifelong learner committed to continuous study of the craft and its application to the present times. Kelsey lives with their three cats in Long Beach, California where they are rooted with family and friends. For regular updates on their life and poetry follow on Insta @theexquisitepoet
Words of the Wild: Exploring Nature and Poetry
ONE-TIME CLASS
CLASS DESCRIPTIONIn this nature-inspired workshop, we will explore poets like Mary Oliver, Robert Frost, and Joy Harjo. Designed for both new and experienced poets, we will explore the poetry of the natural world and then create our own, using meditation and nature herself to inspire us. By the end of the workshop, you will have created poems that reflect the unique beauty and diversity of the natural world. No prior writing experience is needed—just a love for nature and a willingness to play with words. Join us as we reconnect to the wild poet within!
Tuesday, April 22, 2025
5:30pm PT to 7:30pm PT
CLASS CULTURE📹 This class will be recorded. The replay will be available for 30 days after the live session.
👋 This class is held in a live Zoom session, it is not a webinar. You will be able to use the chat, be seen on camera, raise your hand and ask questions to the instructor in real time.
🎉 This class is interactive, student participation is encouraged.
➡ Read more about how we learn.
➡ Understand our Sliding Scale.
INSTRUCTOR BIOAngela Yeh is an East Coast Canadian native who grew up a stone’s throw from Stephen King’s Maine. She graduated with a BA in Psychology and Literature at Mount Allison University. She has had many non-fiction articles published by DIYMFA.com, and most recently, a few with The Poetry Lab. Her poetry appears in the Monterey Poetry Review, Bright Orchards, and Bread ’N Molasses. Her one foray into horror was published Pink Chair Storytellers by LivingCrue magazine. She lives among the tall pines of Texas with her two human children, three cranky fur babies and one magical willow tree that calls herself Maddie.
Notion for Poets: Building a Digital Poetry Practice
ONE-TIME CLASS
CLASS DESCRIPTIONYou’re a poet and you know it… but in our digital world, it’s easy to get lost in all the digital tools & techniques! This is for poets who think Notion may be the answer…and this workshop will walk you through how to build a Notion Hub for your specific poetry needs!
Tuesday, May 13, 2025
5:30pm PT to 7:30pm PT
CLASS CULTURE📹 This class will be recorded. The replay will be available for 30 days after the live session.
👋 This class is held in a live Zoom session, it is not a webinar. You will be able to use the chat, be seen on camera, raise your hand and ask questions to the instructor in real time.
🎉 This class is interactive, student participation is encouraged.
➡ Read more about how we learn.
➡ Understand our Sliding Scale.
INSTRUCTOR BIOJoanna Velez is a writer with roots in Ecuador and Mexico. She went to USC and received her BA in Narrative Studies with a minor in Web Applications, and an MA in Literary Editing and Publishing. Professionally, she has worked with several nonprofits and startups. Joanna has several projects she is chipping away at, including a speculative fiction novel, a fairy-tale-esque short story collection, and a poetry chapbook about relationships and animals. Joanna is from Los Angeles, and currently lives in Washington State with her husband and their 4 animals.
Why a Sliding Scale?
At The Poetry Lab, we believe an arts education is for everyone, and our sliding scale ensures that no writer is left behind. By choosing a payment tier that fits your current circumstances, you contribute not only to your own creative growth but also to a thriving community of poets and writers.
By reaching these goals together, we can ensure the sustainability of The Poetry Lab’s workshops, provide fair compensation to our teaching artists, and continue offering meaningful, accessible opportunities to all writers.
No matter what you pay, you’ll receive the same engaging, high-quality workshop experience. Thank you for supporting The Poetry Lab and for showing up for your creativity!
Can you help us reach our monthly goals? Here’s how each payment tier supports our community:
Want to support The Poetry Lab even more?
The best way to sustain our mission—and your creative practice—is by becoming a VIP Member. For just $35/month, you’ll:
Skip the Sign-Up Hassle: Automatic access to every monthly BrainTrust workshop.
Save on Courses: Enjoy exclusive discounts on 4-week classes and The Feedback Circle.
Stay Connected: Gain access to members-only events and office hour sessions with our staff.
Your membership makes a direct impact: it keeps workshops thriving, ensures fair pay for teaching artists, and helps writers like you show up and create.
Ready to invest in yourself and a community that values your creativity?