2026 Workshop Series: October

Against the Record: Generating Poems from the Legal Archive
facilitated by Joel Sedano
Monday, October 12, 2026
7-9pm EST
Zoom

the workshop:

In a political moment marked by rapid production of legislative and bureaucratic documents, poets have access to an urgent, evolving archive that invites creative intervention. This workshop explores how legal texts, often experienced as opaque, violent, or disempowering, can be transformed into sites of poetic reimagination and resistance.

Drawing on the tradition of documentary and archival poetics practiced by M. NourbeSe Philip, Patricia Smith, Tyehimba Jess, Claudia Rankine, and others, the session examines how poets repurpose legal and administrative language to expose power, critique institutional violence, and imagine alternative futures.

This workshop will begin with a close reading of 2-4 examples of documentary poetics, grounding our discussion in questions of form, ethics, and method. Participants are asked to research and select their own legislative or legal documents to work with; however, a curated selection of texts will also be available for those who prefer guided entry points. The second half of the session will focus on generative writing exercises, with time for sharing and group feedback, so that participants leave with the beginnings of a draft as well as strategies for continuing this work beyond the workshop.

the facilitator:

Joel Sedano (they/them) is a Queer and Trans* poet. They are of Mexican, P'urhépecha and Wixárika descent. Joel has an M.F.A. in Writing: Poetry from Columbia University and M.A. in Performance Studies from New York University. Currently, they are a second-year PhD student in the Theatre & Performance program at The Graduate Center, City University of New York. Joel's writings have appeared in multiple publications, with recent work featured in Gnashing Teeth Publishing's ____figuration: an anthology of trans writers.

Check out Joel’s poem, “Self-Portrait as Rain,” in Issue 29: CHRONIC & their Poets in Conversation feature with Ry Cook!

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.