Free Verse Virtual Workshop with The Poetry Society of New York: Workshop: How to Become a Menace to Your Enemies

Published in 1987, Lucille Clifton wrote “they ask me to remember // but they want me to remember // their memories // and i keep on remembering // mine.” Entitled “why some people be mad at me sometimes,” Clifton implores her reader to find power in honoring your truth, your memories, your experiences in the face of unforeseen response. Through this workshop, we will explore memories and the moments we’ve experienced that has reaffirmed our power, helping us honor those difficult memories. We will discuss our relationships to deteriorating memories and ways we can find grounding in those losses and redactions.

About the instructor: angela abiodun is a writer who loves hibiscus, mangosteen, and is presently obsessed with the daily routines of ladybugs. A recent graduate of Pratt Institute’s MFA in Creative Writing, some of their present considerations manifest as a series of letters to the descendants of indigo dyers, particularly in the Black/African diaspora. Their chaplet Cobblestone Lined Walkways Expect Sprawling Grass Between Them (Belladonna* Collaborative, 2023) considers their body in relationship with society and the natural world.