Join us at November 2024's Free Verse, a PSNY initiative designed specifically by & for BIPOC creatives, with Michael Kleber-Diggs!

Perhaps more than anything else, line breaks distinguish poetry from other literary art forms. In this workshop, we'll share ideas on creating compelling and energetic poetic lines. We'll study a few examples, practice a few different approaches, and share work with each other.

About the instructor: Michael Kleber-Diggs (KLEE-burr digs) (he / him / his) is a 2023-2025 Jerome Hill Artist Fellow in Literature, a poet, essayist, literary critic, and arts educator. His debut poetry collection, Worldly Things (Milkweed Editions 2021), won the Max Ritvo Poetry Prize, the 2022 Hefner Heitz Kansas Book Award in Poetry, the 2022 Balcones Poetry Prize, the 2021 Poetry Center Book Award, and was a finalist for the 2022 Minnesota Book Award. Michael’s essay, “There Was a Tremendous Softness,” appears in A Darker Wilderness: Black Nature Writing from Soil to Stars, edited by Erin Sharkey (Milkweed Editions, 2023). His poems and essays appear in numerous journals and anthologies.

At The Poetry Society of New York, we believe that true creativity flourishes when all voices are heard, especially those that have been historically marginalized. Our commitment to diversity, inclusion, and equity isn't just a statement—it's woven into the fabric of everything we do. We aim to model this commitment for the entire arts industry, creating spaces where everyone, regardless of their background, feels seen, valued, and empowered.

PSNY's Free Verse Workshops are a direct response to the social inequities that too often silence BIPOC and LGBTQ+ voices. These free monthly workshops offer two distinct, identity-centered spaces: one for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) and one for LGBTQ+ creatives. Here, participants can connect, create, and explore their unique identities through poetry, in environments designed specifically for them.

We recognize that these spaces are not just about creativity—they're about justice. By centering BIPOC and LGBTQ+ experiences, we’re working to dismantle the barriers that have long kept these voices on the margins. Each workshop concludes with a resource-sharing session, where participants can exchange literature, community events, and grants, building networks that extend beyond the workshop.

As part of our unwavering commitment to equity, all attendees receive a 50% discount for our Weekly Virtual Workshops—because access to the arts should never be a privilege but a right.

If you do not identify as BIPOC or LGBTQ+, we warmly invite you to explore other PSNY events.