2026 Workshop Series: September

Mad As Hell: The Poetics of Rage
facilitated by zakia henderson-brown
Monday, September 14, 2026
7-9pm EST
Zoom

REGISTRATION CLOSED

the workshop:

To paraphrase Solange’s timeless reminder: there is a lot to be mad about. Or, as this workshop’s patron saint June Jordan eloquently asks: “what in the hell is everybody being reasonable about”? Explicit anger doesn’t often rear its head in poetry, perhaps because poets fear rage might come across as unconsidered on the page, that it would be better distilled down into something more universally palatable. In this generative poetry workshop, we will explore how anger has been employed in contemporary poetry, and to what effect: humor? agitation? catharsis? Together, we will read, discuss, and draw inspiration from texts by June Jordan, Martin Espada, D.M. Spratley, Marcus Wicker, Mary Ruefle, and others. We will engage in writing exercises and benefit from prompts and small group discussions that will allow writers of all levels to begin to develop their own poetics of rage.  

the facilitator:

zakia henderson-brown is the author of The Body Losing Its Borders, winner of the 2025 Alice James Award Editor's Choice, and the author of What Kind of Omen Am I, winner of the Poetry Society of America’s Chapbook Fellowship. She is a 2023 NYFA/NYSCA Poetry Fellow, a Cave Canem graduate fellow, and has received additional support from the Cafe Royal Cultural Foundation, the Fine Arts Work Center, Callaloo Journal, and Poets House. She works as a senior editor at nonprofit publisher The New Press and is a Bed-Stuy native, resident, and loyalist.