Mondays, March 16 to April 13, 6-8pm Eastern
online; 10 students max
$350-$385, sliding scale
Enroll in this class
In the midst of American fascism, volatile uprisings, ICE raids, global imperialism, and genocide, what is the importance of creative work in the midst of crisis, whether domestic or abroad? The great songwriter Nina Simone believed that “an artist’s duty…is to reflect the times.” In this course, we will put this idea to the test: we will not only examine our own lives as creative beings, but also study a number of writers whose art has aimed to reflect injustices in the world—not merely as a mirror, but as a diagnostic. Our approach will be explicitly anti-racist in its focus, and will pay particular attention to how xenophobia and antiblackness in political and social discourse shapes all our lives, whether or not we realize we are directly impacted by it.
This course will consist of weekly poetry prompts and readings/media across genres. In addition to poetry, we will read prose essays, watch a documentary, and even take a look at some visual art—all the while asking ourselves, “Is all art inherently political? And why?”
Class participants may expect 1) robust, intensive antiracist reading discussion with an art-based orientation 2) to receive new writing prompts each week, and 3) to have a poem workshopped by the group once toward the end of the course. This class is for writers of all skill levels! All are welcome—the curious, the zealous, and the unsure.
Enroll in this class now.
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.
Testimonials from Previous Co-Lab Classes Natasha Has Taught
“What a cool workshop! I was not new to the concepts of radical revision, but the supplementary readings and prompts Natasha provided helped me very clearly identify my “typical” patterns and targeted antidotes. I learned a lot about myself as a writer and appreciated the chance to keep “weeding out” my unhelpful beliefs about what writing and revision should be. Natasha is an instructor who will gently point out the ways you undermine your own abilities and wrap you in a warm blanket of encouragement to believe in youself and be brave.”
“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.”