events

“Burning the Old Year” Poetry Workshop for the New Orleans Writers Workshop

Date: Saturday, January 17, 2026 
Time: 10 AM – 1 PM
Location: New Orleans, LA

Description: In the poem, “Burning the Old Year,” Naomi Shihab Nye writes, “So much of any year is flammable.” As we close out 2025 – a year that pushed many of us to the collective edge – January offers an opportunity to reflect and renew. This generative workshop is an invitation to dive into the fire, to release what no longer serves us and set intentions for what lies ahead. We’ll read work by poets such as Major Jackson, Muriel Leung, and Joy Harjo, consider the ways time, memory, and the speculative can shape a poem, and write at least three drafts in response to guided prompts. Writers at any stage are welcome. The only requirement is that you come ready to build community, share a bit about yourself, and ignite your writing practice. Let’s set the year on fire.

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