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Poetry Workshop with Patricia Spears Jones

"Working Words"

July 6, 2026 · 3 to 4:30 p.m.
Garden House
$125/adults, $100/students

Commemorate the 250th anniversary of America's fight for independence with Poetry in the Garden's 2026 season, "Voices of the New Revolution." Each Monday this July, nationally acclaimed poets will share works that stand defiant of oppression and injustice, opting instead for empowerment, creativity, and empathy.

Limited to just 25 attendees, this 90-minute afternoon workshop, led by New York State Poet Laureate Emerita Patricia Spears Jones, will include a thematic overview, a reading of poems that illustrate the theme, and a brief generative exercise with the opportunity to share one's work. Workshops are open to writers of all experience levels and genres. 

From Patricia Spears Jones: "Poetry is all about vocabulary. New poems and revisions start with the materiality of poetry: language. It's all about words—which ones, how they're placed, what will be the poem’s tonal landscape. In this workshop, we'll use two different vocabulary prompts, one adapted from David Rivard and one developed from Walt Whitman’s language in Democratic Vistas. Participants will have drafts of at least two poems and prompts that can be reused as needed."

Registration opens soon! Students receive discounted rates - inquire at info@keelertavernmuseum.org for details.

Patricia Spears Jones is a poet, playwright, anthologist, educator, and cultural activist. She served as the 2023 New York State Poet Laureate. Her most recent book is The Beloved Community (Copper Canyon, 2023); she is also the author of A Lucent Fire: New and Selected Poems. Jones has taught graduate and undergraduate creative writing at Hollins University, Adelphi University, Hunter College, and Barnard College. A Senior Fellow Emeritus of the Black Earth Institute, Jones organizes the American Poets Congress, a group of poets and other culture workers working for inclusion and supporting racial, social, and economic justice for all.

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