“The workshops that Tess has gifted to our community have been healing and transformational on many levels. She has firmly held a safe space for people to be seen and heard with love. In her classes we have spent time together reading, writing, laughing, and even crying. For those who suffer from addiction, mental illness and homelessness - this outlet is indispensable. Her workshops have enabled participants to tap into their emotions safely in a nonjudgmental space while learning new skills.”
—
Jes Wright, Beyond Sober Co-Founder
Brooklyn Poets 5-Wk Workshop Crafting a Sequence
What lies beyond the individual poem? How do you bring narrative clarity or emotional cohesion to a group of poems? This generative workshop is designed to guide poets who are excited to experiment with different forms, prompts, and techniques to create a sequence of poems. During this five-week workshop, we’ll draw inspiration from poets like Jericho Brown, Sharon Olds, Claudia Rankine, Lo Kwa Mei-en, and others, learning how individual poems can engage in dynamic dialogues with each other. Through collaborative discussions and targeted exercises, you’ll develop a deeper understanding of how to weave your poems into a cohesive and powerful sequence that could become the foundation of a collection or future chapbook. All classes will be in person.
Class sessions will meet at 144 Montague St, and assignments, poems and critiques will be shared via Wet Ink.
Sign up here!
Goodyear Arts Action Series
Action Series is Back!
Last year we inaugurated a month-long experimental performance series featuring GYA artists & special guests. This year we continue the series, with new experimental works and risky collaborations. At the April 5th performance, Tess will be collaborating with Poet de’Angelo Dia and Musician Casey Malone.
Mark Your Calendars:
March 22nd (VIP Patreon Night)
March 29th
April 5th
April 12th
Goodyear will be partnering with Free Range Brewing who will generously provide complimentary drinks for each event. To support Goodyear Arts: Goodyeararts.com
Poetry at Play!
Sometimes poetry is regarded as one of the more “serious” arts, and people can forget how much play is involved in the craft. In this workshop, we’ll embrace playfulness by reading some samples of other writers who are exuberant, audacious, and downright silly on the page! We’ll pay attention to word choices, sound, line delineation, form, content, punctuation, and tone to evoke the joy and play on our own pages. After going over samples, we’ll take time to write our own playful poems. If there’s time at the end, we'll go around and share what we wrote (sharing is encouraged but not required).
Cream Puff Records Event at SOCO Gallery Annex
Cream Puff Records presents a night of music, poetry, and visual art! The Line-Up for the evening:
Music from BCMC and Ghost Trees
Poetry by Tess Congo
Video by Liliya Zalevskaya
Click the event for ticket information <3
Goodlit Fellowship Reading
In celebration of the completion of Poet Isaac Akanmu’s Goodlit Fellowship, a reading will take place at Goodyear Arts with Poets Tess Congo, Caeli Faisst, Maurice J. Norman, and Isaac Akanmu reading from his debut collection. It will overlap with The Marks Left Behind art exhibit. Join us for a lovely evening of poetry & art.
Poetic Joy: Praise Through Poetry with Beyond Sober
In this workshop, we’ll start with some physical grounding exercises, delve into defining what an ode or praise poem is, looking at a few examples together, doing in-workshop writing, and if there’s time at the end, sharing a little bit of what we wrote (only if you want to share. Sharing not required)…
Goodyear Arts: Doomsday and Night IV
Step into a realm where the boundaries between past, present, and possibility blur, where the apocalypse is not just an end but a beginning, and where joy emerges from the darkest of hours. Doomsday: Apocalypse Now & Then is a visual and performance art exhibition that invites the viewer to contemplate the intersection of existence, time's ceaseless march, and the resilience of humanity. This exhibition, featuring local artists, offers a glimpse into the complexities of our collective consciousness, the nature of existence, and the transformative power of joy, weaving threads of optimism and resilience into the fabric of their creations.
Hunter College MFA Graduate Reading
Hunter College Masters of Fine Arts Thesis Reading for completion of two-year program.
ProjectME Journaling Workshop
This journaling workshop led by Tess Congo for the nonprofit ProjectME serves to get participants stuck out of the flurry of daily activities to connect with their most creative selves on the page. In this workshop, we’ll delve into a few different writing exercises that you can try out in the workshop and take with you for further expansion on your own!
Ritual Poetics: A Luna Luna Magazine Reading
In this event, poetry or works based on magic, tarot, astrology, and the sacred will be shared with conversation around how ritual and writing can help coping during challenging times.
SFA Projects Poetry Reading + Closing Party: Spring Haiku
The SFA Gallery in NYC hosted Poets Tess Congo, Griffin Brown, Anne Brink, Todd Colby, Matthew Goodman, Anele Rubin, and Robin Stout to read for the closing of their exhibition Spring Haiku featuring the visual artists Jeffrey Morabito, Nina Meledandri, Tara de la Garza, and Tawan Wattuya.
Girlhood: A Poetry Performance Series
Honey Dipped Productions LLC presents Girlhood: A Poetry Performance Series directed by Helen Huettner and Mariah Muehler
This one-hour show will feature female poets: Tess Congo, Jennifer Huang, Helen Huettner, Aria Aber, Kiran Bath, Alessandra Calderin, Megan Gillis, Rand Faris, annd Brenna Hellfer with original music performed by Molly Rabuffo, Theresa Rowley, and Alexis Floyd
The show’s focus is on women’s coming-of-age narratives and will end with a complimentary wine reception on the rooftop garden. Portion of ticket donation proceeds will go toward Living Well, a domestic violence outreach organization for women.