Words of Art: WriteGirl Poetry Workshop at Otis College

“This is not a poetry workshop,” WriteGirl Executive Director Keren Taylor told the room comprised of nearly 100 mentors and 100 teen girls, with notebooks and pens perched on their laps.

“This is a workshop about power,” Taylor continued. “With poetry, you can do anything you want.”

WriteGirl held its 19th Annual Poetry Workshop on Dec. 7th at Otis College of Art & Design in Westchester.

After Taylor kicked off the day, several guest speakers were introduced by girls who have opted into the Bold Leaders program, a goal of which is to develop public speaking skills. Bridgett Bianca, Rocío Carlos, Rachel McLeod Kaminer, and Marisa Matarazzo led the large group in some writing activities before sharing some sage advice. 

“A poet’s job is to uncover the covered,” Carlos said, encouraging the room to write from the heart and give a voice to those society erases. A particularly moving moment came directly afterward when she called attention to her slightly trembling hand. “I still get nervous when I get up in front of people, and that’s okay. Sometimes you just have to do the thing.”

With those parting words, the girls split off into smaller groups and grabbed an envelope of prompts hanging from a plant coined The Poetree. They were then led by a mentor to explore various writing stations positioned around Otis College of Art and Design’s vibrant campus. The stations included a marketplace where each girl could choose to analyze the work of an established female poet, and a walk around a gallery of student-made art to inspire their writing.

And they certainly got inspired!

When the entire group came back together at the end of the day, dozens of girls raced to share their work with poetry experts to get feedback and suggestions. After the final edits were complete, many of them lined up next to the stage, eager to read a piece they spent the last few hours developing. 

There were lyrical reflections on the sculptures around the campus, joyful reminiscings on fond memories, emotional explorations of identity, humorous anecdotes about the weather, experimental descriptions of daydreams, and much more. Though the topics varied wildly, all the poems had one thing in common—they are teeming with passion and strength.

During a quiet writing time near the end of the day, 15-year-old Victoria Rosales shared what her favorite part of the workshop had been. She raises her pen to her chin, tapping, deep in thought. Finally, she answers: “I used to feel uncomfortable calling myself an artist, but now I realize that’s exactly what I am. I know I can write whatever I want, and it feels good.” 

She turns back to her notebook, scribbling something down — a writer, a creator, an artist.