Dear Diary, Let’s Get Weird: Journaling as a Path to Poems
Inspired by Lynda Barry’s raw, playful, and deeply intuitive approach to creativity, this workshop invites poets to return to the page as a living, breathing space—a journal where language emerges through image, memory, and repetition. We’ll use drawing, mapping, timed writing, and sensory recall to tap into the subconscious, generating poetic material that surprises even the writer. Through the lens of Barry’s practices, alongside poems by Sharon Olds, Ross Gay, Diane Seuss, and others, we’ll explore how journals can become fertile ground for poetry that is vivid, vulnerable, and alive. This is not a revision-heavy space—it’s about loosening the grip, trusting instinct, and writing from the body and the image. By the end, you’ll have a messy, magical stack of beginnings and the tools to keep the fire going long after the workshop ends.
3 Hours on Tuesday | Jul 29 | 6:30-9:30pm ET | $105.00 ($90.00 for Members)
All are welcome, space is limited. A limited number of need-based scholarships are available. Please email support@poetshouse.org with any questions. By participating in the workshop, you agree to abide by our Community Agreement.
About the educator:
Diannely Antigua is a Dominican American poet and educator, born and raised in Massachusetts. She is the author of two collections, Ugly Music (YesYes Books, 2019) which was a 2020 Whiting Award winner, and Good Monster (Copper Canyon Press, 2024). She received her MFA in poetry from NYU and currently teaches in the MFA Writing Program at the University of New Hampshire as the Nossrat Yassini Poet in Residence.