2026 Workshop Series: August

The Power of Control
facilitated by Rishona Micahel
Monday, August 10, 2026
7-9pm EST
Zoom

the workshop:

"it is better to speak now than not have said anything at all”--June Jordan

Political poetry is often an exploration of power—how it is claimed, challenged, withheld, and returned. At its simplest, it can be used for documentation, critique, protest, and advocation. It can call attention, bear witness, and give voice.

In this class we will study the way power shows up in poetry. We will understand when to hold power, when to release it, and how language can shift authority. Reading poets like Cornelius Eady, June Jordan, Diana DiPrima, George Abraham and more will help us to examine how they reclaim, redirect, and redistribute power through diction, structure, and voice. Together we will discover how to use our own diction and voice to declare or yield power and return it back to the community.

the facilitator:

Rishona Michael is a Brooklyn based poet. A graduate of the Sarah Lawrence College MFA’s program where she won an Academy of American Poets University Prize. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming from No, Dear, Sho Journal, Poets.org, Black Warrior Review, Prairie Schooner, and more. She has received support from Sundress Academy for the Arts, reads for Pigeon Pages, and teaches poetry courses through GrubStreet. In 2025 she became the Poetry Coalition Fellow for Kundiman.

discount codes for those who need

No, Dear aims to be as inclusive and barrier-free as we can. If the workshop rate is a barrier for you to participate, please keep reading!

• If you’re a student or a senior citizen, and would benefit from a $10 reduction in the price, use the code LEARN at checkout.

• If you’re experiencing financial hardship, and would only be able to participate with a $20 reduction in the price, use the code SUPPORT at checkout.

• If you’re in need of a full scholarship, email your interest to nodearmagazine at gmail dot com.