The Garbage We Inherit: A free poetry workshop series

Join the Freshkills Park Alliance and poets Jenny Pisani and Thomas Fucaloro for a traveling 10-session poetry workshop series. This workshop series is for poets of all levels of experience (16+) and will guide participants through the generative and creative process of writing a poem. Following the layers of a landfill cap, poets will work session by session to reflect and deconstruct their process and create poems that explore the emotional garbage we inherit, hold onto, let go of, and transform into something intentional. By the end of these series, you will have at least 6 new poems written.

The 10 sessions will take place at Freshkills Park, as well as several other locations on Staten Island including the Alice Austen House, the Staten Island Museum, and others to be announced on a bi-weekly basis. Two of these sessions will be for editing and take place virtually.

The final session will be a performance and open-mic celebration at Freshkills Park in June open to the public.

Guest poets will also co-facilitate including Staten Island’s Poet Laureate Marguerite Maria Rivas, Maya da Poet, M.A. Dennis and others.

Register Here!

Schedule: Participants are expected to attend at least 6 of the 10 sessions. Details are as follows, with some details awaiting finalization. Participants will receive a more detailed schedule upon confirmation of their sign-up.

Session 1: Saturday, March 4th, 2-4PM @ Freshkills Park

Session 2: Saturday, March 18th, 2-4PM @ TBD

Session 3: Saturday, April 1st, 3-5:30PM @ Alice Austen House

Session 4: Saturday, April 15th, 2-4PM @ TBD

Session 5: Tuesday, April 18th, TBD, virtual editing session

Session 6: Saturday, April 29th, 2-4PM @ Staten Island Museum

Session 7: Saturday, May 13th, 2-4PM @ Freshkills Park

Session 8: Saturday, May 27th, 2-4PM @ Freshkills Park

Session 9: TBD, virtual editing session

Session 10 (Performance/Public Open-Mic): Saturday, June 10th, 2-4PM @ Freshkills Park

Transportation: Poets will be provided with Metrocards to access in-person sessions.

Materials: Writing materials including pens, pencils, and paper will be provided.

This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.