The Poetry Lab
ABOUT THE POETRY LAB
Built on a love for accessible, community-focused writing spaces, The Poetry Lab was co-founded in February 2013 by friends Markus D. Manley and Danielle Mitchell to provide a space to learn new skills and techniques for poetry writing and the creative process.
At our core, we strive to remove barriers that would otherwise restrict the pursuit of a higher education in poetry and literary arts. We reject the idea that an arts education is wasted, but we also believe going deep into debt is not practical or necessary for rigor in learning. We seek out liberated pedagogies, and reject institutions with approaches to learning rooted in patriarchal classism and white supremacy. At The Poetry Lab, anyone who wants to try poetry at any skill level can do so in a nurturing community, one with learning structures that place humanity at the forefront.
From the beginning, we have followed a collaborative model, celebrating diversity and the unique gifts that every writer brings to the table. Our facilitators identify as BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, neurodivergent, disabled, chronically ill, working class, and/or non-traditionally educated.
To increase accessibility and remove the college tuition paywall, The Poetry Lab offers low-cost one-time classes, humane critique workshops, and 4 week courses—many of our offerings are presented on a sliding scale and can be accessed for as little as the cost of a cup of coffee. Two funded scholarships are provided to every session we lead, and additional individuals who request a fee waiver either receive full or partial assistance.
A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY TO SUPPORT WRITERS
As we work to level the playing field of creative writing education, we provide programming for individuals from historically marginalized communities. Because representation matters, we invite teaching artists from all over the country to ensure that our programs are facilitated by individuals from the communities we are working to serve. As we do so, we strive to ensure these artists are properly compensated for their time.
With your support, we can provide two major kinds of community care in our operations:
- Teaching Artist Honorariums. We are in the process of selecting and contracting our 2023 visiting teaching artist instructors. Collected funds help us make a direct and powerful statement: we value our arts educators. We firmly believe artists deserve to be paid for their time, love and ingenuity.
- Scholarship Funds. Your donation also has the power to provide scholarships that will help us continue and increase our support for BIPOC students. These scholarships give folks the time and opportunity to begin to see themselves as writers and artists. We believe every investment in our community members is a good one, we tend to see 4 out of every 5 scholarship awardees return to our community as paying participants. When we believe in our community, they begin to believe also.
Any donations made to The Poetry Lab will be used expressly for these purposes. Your donation is processed through a fiscal sponsorship agreement with The Arts Area, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation (EIN 81-3551663) and is tax deductible to the extent allowable by law.