Geographies of the Self: Writing Poetry of Place & Home

This two-week generative poetry workshop explores how place shapes our voice, image, and identity. We will read a diverse array of place poems and write our own based on prompts. Whether you want to write an ode to your grandmother’s homeland or pen a poem exploring a fractured sense of cultural identity, this workshop will provide prompts to guide you.

Topics include:

• The idea of ‘home’ and belonging
• Bringing place to life in your poetry
• Embracing culture, family lore, and ancestry

About the Instructor: Lisa Marie Basile is an author, poet, and editor based in Jersey City, NJ and NYC. She is the author of a few books of poetry, including SAINT OF (White Stag Publishing, 2025), Nympholespy (Inside the Castle, 2019, which was a finalist in the 2017 Tarpaulin Sky Book Awards selected by Bhanu Kapil), Apocryphal (Noctuary Press, 2014), and Andalucia (The Poetry Society of New York, 2012). She’s also written non-fiction, including Light Magic for Dark Times. She holds an MFA from The New School in NYC and is the founding editor of Luna Luna Magazine.