The ode, commonly understood as a ceremonious and celebratory form, an homage or tribute to a subject of the poet’s choosing, is also an exercise in retrieval. As we inhabit homelands and a world of unrelenting crises, engaging in the act of rescuing the disregarded and seemingly ordinary can be a defiant move against the manufactured precarity that insists on consuming us whole. In this workshop, we will explore how the ode as a contemporary form can function as a tactic to salvage all that which slips through the cracks, “buried under the accumulating emergencies of our lives,” as the poet Adrienne Rich would put it. And how through this unearthing, odes can help us recover what is oftentimes forcefully wrung from our selves—our memory, our joy, our hope.
All writing levels welcome. The facilitator will supply the writing prompt(s) and attendees are invited to write from them. While all are encouraged to share what they wrote, it is not required.
ABOUT THE FACILITATOR
Ana Portnoy Brimmer is a poet and translator from Puerto Rico. To Love an Island, her debut poetry collection, was originally the winner of YesYes Books’ 2019 Vinyl 45 Chapbook Contest. Que tiemble, a derivative work in Spanish, was published with La Impresora in 2023. Aimer Une Île, a French translation of Que tiemble by Benjamin Haroun Montesano, was published with Editorial Pulpo in 2025. Ana is a 2024 Hedgebrook Writer-in-Residence Program Alumna, was awarded a 2023 MASS MoCA Fellowship for Artists from Puerto Rico, and was named one of Poets & Writers 2021 Debut Poets. Her work has been published in The Paris Review, Prairie Schooner, Southeast Review, among others. Ana is the daughter of Mexican-Jewish immigrants and she resides in Puerto Rico.
ACCESSIBILITY
Accessibility is a core value for Split This Rock. We strive to provide programs, materials, and communications that allow people within the disability community to engage fully. Zoom auto-captions will be provided. Written versions of poem prompts and poems used for discussion will be provided via screen share, the chat, or links.
Let us know of any accessibility questions or accommodation requests via the workshop registration form or by emailing [email protected] with "ACCESS REQUEST" in the subject line by Thursday, October 30th. Given our ongoing funding challenges, we cannot promise accessibility services, but will do our best to provide accommodations.
SCHOLARSHIPS
Split This Rock is committed to providing more affordable options for paid poetry programs. There are a limited number of scholarship seats available on a first come, first served basis. Please email [email protected] to claim one of these seats or tickets. We will send you a discount code you can use when registering. When these seats are all claimed, we will update this page.
ABOUT SPLIT THIS ROCK
Split This Rock is the only national organization with a mission to integrate poetry and social justice. We materially support poets who are often excluded and underrepresented in the literary landscape, particularly those who are BIPOC, LGBTQ, disabled or chronically ill, and/or working class. With strong commitments to racial, gender, economic, and disability justice, we work to expand the horizons of inclusion and assert the transformative power of language to bear witness to injustice and provoke social change. We believe poetry acts as an agent for change by revealing the diversity and complexity of human experience, reflecting on daily lives and struggles, considering personal and social responsibility, and envisioning a better world. Learn more at Split This Rock's website.