Our world is one that so often tends toward individualism and isolation. Whether in our personal lives or in our writing lives, it’s easy to feel disconnected from our deepest values, and from each other—no matter how much our digital lives might give the appearance of connectivity.

In this workshop, we will read, study, and draft toward poems that interrogate connection across various forms of relationships, both personal and societal. What binds us together in community, and estranges us, and why? What power dynamics and privileges determine who is “other,” whether with regard to race, gender, class, or sexual orientation? What is the difference between proximity and earned intimacy? We will look for ways to expand our definitions of connectedness in a rigorous—and supportive—writing environment.

This 6-session workshop will have 3 sessions of in-class writing, reading, and group discussion, then 3 weeks of workshop. All participants will be given the option to have a 30-minute 1-on-1 minute with the instructor to discuss anything that will aid them in the class.

About the Instructor

Natasha Oladokun is a Black, queer poet and essayist from Virginia. She earned a BA in English from the University of Virginia, and an MFA in creative writing from Hollins University. She holds fellowships from Cave Canem, The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), the Virginia Center for Creative Arts, the Jackson Center for Creative Writing, Twelve Literary Arts, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she was the inaugural First Wave Poetry fellow. Her work has appeared in the American Poetry Review, Academy of American Poets, Image, Harvard Review Online, Kenyon Review Online, Harper’s Bazaar, Catapult, and elsewhere. She currently lives in Madison, Wisconsin, and is working on her first collection of poems.

Student Testimonials

“Natasha is awesome. I really love her classes and find her really helpful with seeking depth, and analyzing the starting point, or catalyst, to a poem. She has a keen ear for what is truly magical.”

“Natasha is wonderful! Her consideration of language permeates her instruction in the most beautiful way. The class was well paced and well constructed. Would take another workshop with her without hesitation!”

“In addition to being excellent at her craft, Natasha Oladokun is an exceptional teacher. She modeled incredibly compassionate and constructive feedback that never held back in its striving for excellence.”

"Natasha facilitated conversation and workshops with care and expertise, and was very generous with her time and knowledge."

"[T]hat’s what made the workshop structure so different from others Natasha has taught. Whereas normally workshop feedback tends to focus too heavily on the minutiae of the poem’s structure — “Why did you break the line here?” — Natasha’s First Wave workshop cut straight to the meat of the process: “Looking at what the poem is saying as opposed to how it is behaving,” and saving the minutiae for the final review process."

We Are Each Other’s Business: An Intermediate Level Poetry Workshop, 6 sessions with Natasha Oladokun