I'm in the Tin House Winter Online Workshop and the Kenyon Winter Online Workshop this year!

After I finished the manuscript for We Had Mansions, I knew immediately that I’d write a second poetry collection one day. I told myself I’d take a little break to give myself space for another project, but that didn’t really happen. The poems kept coming.

But the poems that were coming out—even though I’m rather fond of some of them—felt like a rehashing of We Had Mansions. They didn’t feel like part of a separate collection. Even though I shouldn’t have been thinking about a second collection so soon, I could already hear the future criticism: that my second poetry book was essentially a rewrite of the first; that I didn’t say anything new or noteworthy. In a word: I could already imagine the criticisms that I was a one-trick pony.

All this to say, I felt like I’d entered the sophomore slump.

I thought a poetry workshop would be just the thing I needed to get myself out of the creative rut, so I applied for the Tin House Winter Online Workshop and the Kenyon Winter Online Workshop, knowing I’d be fortunate to even get waitlisted. As luck would have it, I was admitted to both!

So I’ve had a really intense couple of weeks of poetry workshop, but I’m learning SO MUCH, getting clarity on my next steps, figuring out how to evolve my voice, and the skills to take my career to the next level. It’s been a lot of work, but I’m so thankful.

If you’re even vaguely interested in one of these workshops, I highly recommend! I’d say go with Kenyon if you want generative and go with Tin House if you want professional development. Both entail critiques of your work, so you’re covered there.