Poetry & The Archive: Creating Poetry from Photographs

Poetry & The Archive: Creating Poetry from Photographs is a generative workshop on the use of photographs from historical (and personal) archives to create poetry.

Participants will generate new work through a series of prompts and be invited to use their own photographs to create new (or revise existing) poems.

This workshop is drawn from previous archive-related workshops the author has facilitated, her personal work using archives for two poetry collections-in-progress and forthcoming chapbook (Akashic Books/Africa Poetry Book Fund, 2027) and research into the use and power of photography in telling a story. Example poets to be discussed in workshop include Patricia Smith, Caleb Femi, Gordon Parks, and photographs from Russell Lee, US government archives, and others.

This workshop supports writers of all stages.

Participants are required to bring a writing device of preference (Personal Notebook / Journal / Sketch Pad / Pen / Pencil / Markers / Crayons) and photographs to use during the workshop.

About the author

.CHISARAOKWU., MD (she/her) is an Igbo transdisciplinary poet artist and scholar. Her practice weaves archive, collage, film, and her experiences as a physician to explore memory and identity in the African diaspora. Her poetry and visual art has been featured in Michigan Quarterly Review, ANMLY, Beloit Poetry Journal, Transition and Obsidian, and nominated for the Pushcart Prize, Best of Net, and Best New American Poets. Her chapbook “This Wake Holding, Mmiri” received the 2023 Evaristo Poetry Prize’s Honorable Mention from the Africa Poetry Book Fund. She’s a been awarded fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the California Arts Council, Cave Canem, Anaphora Arts, The Poetry Foundation, Torch Literary Arts, the Vermont Studio Center, and Ucross. From 2010-2017, she served as a US Commissioner to UNESCO. She is currently working on two poetry collections and a novel.

About Beyond Baroque

is one of the United States' leading independent Literary | Arts Centers and public spaces dedicated to expanding the public's knowledge of poetry, literature and art through cultural events and community interaction. Founded in 1968 as an experimental literary magazine, Beyond Baroque is based out of the original City Hall building in Venice, California. The Center offers a diverse variety of literary and arts programming including readings and workshops. The building also houses a bookstore with a large collection of new poetry books for sale.

Ticket purchase is required. Tickets will be available at the Beyond Baroque bookstore on the day of the workshop, but we recommend registering in advance through Eventbrite. Masks are encouraged while inside our center. Please arrive early.

Workshop attendees are expected to behave in a respectful and considerate manner while in our space. Beyond Baroque reserves the right to remove individuals from our workshops, virtual or otherwise, if they are not respecting the space, staff, fellow attendees, or performers.