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  • Poetry Rising: Voices from Latin America (Spring 2026)

Spring 2026

Poetry Rising: Voices from Latin America

Explore the voices representing Latin America in their poetry! Mentors and mentees will read poems that reflect on love, identity, and social change. Alongside reading, participants will write their own poems inspired by these works, experimenting with rhythm, imagery, and voice. Through discussion and creative practice, they’ll discover how poetry can express both personal and collective experience!

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Learning Objectives

Analyze Themes and Voices in Latin American Poetry

Recognize key themes, images, and voices in Latin American poetry

Interpret Poetry as Cultural Expression

Understand how poets use their writing to express identity, culture, and resistance

Apply Poetic Techniques from Latin America

Experiment with poetic techniques found in Latin America

Compose Original, Inspired Poems

Create original poems that respond to or are inspired by Latin American poets 

Poetry Rising: Voices from Latin America Community Experiences

Participants are required to attend one Journey Live Meetings each month throughout the cycle. Additionally, you can schedule 1:1 office hours with the Journey Instructor for individual assistance as needed.

Spring Cycle Journey Meetings:

• Saturday, March 7th, 2026, 2-4 pm ET

• Saturday, April 4th, 2026, 2-4 pm ET

• Saturday, May 9th, 2-4 pm ET

If you’re unable to attend a Journey meeting, you must notify your Staff Lead in advance and attend a community event to make up for it—strongly recommended options for this journey include Leadership Community Studios, Community Conversations, and Career Chats.

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Journey Circle: Community

Poetry Rising: Voices from Latin America Courses

Poetry Rising: Voices from Latin America Courses

In this course, mentees will dive into the world of Latin American poetry. We’ll read powerful poems, engaging with past and present poets reshaping the craft today. We’ll look at how poets have used language to explore identity, love, revolution, nature, and the search for freedom. Through live sessions and a carefully curated course, mentees will experiment with voice, rhythm, and imagery through the lense of Latinx poetry!

 

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Poetry Rising: Voices from Latin America Mentoring

Mentees and mentors in this Journey will be matched for a minimum of one cycle. Pairs will meet for at least two hour-long sessions each month. This journey is open to both mentor/mentee pairs and peer-to-peer pairs.

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Journey Teaching Artist

Dhayana Alejandrina

(she, her)

Dhayana Alejandrina is a multidisciplinary writer, published author, educator, and community facilitator based in Mableton, Georgia. She is the founder of The Creative Writing Hour, a global storytelling community of over 300 writers and creatives who gather weekly to explore identity, creativity, and healing through writing. With a mission to transform isolation into connection, her workshops and mentorship programs are rooted in emotional clarity, creative expression, and personal empowerment.

Dhayana has facilitated over 100 writing workshops across various platforms, universities, and grassroots organizations. Her work—centered on culture, identity, mental wellness, and ancestral storytelling—has been featured by the LA Times, #WeAllGrow Latina, Al Día News, Black Writers Weekend, The Dominican Writers Association, Afriqué Noire Magazine, and more. She has spoken and led panels at The EpiCenter, Black Writers Weekend, and other cultural and literary gatherings, offering insights on the intersection of creativity, community, and healing.

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Multigenre 360

Journeys in the Multigenre 360 Adventure focus on writing in a particular genre. It is perfect for mentees and mentors who want to focus on a specific kind of creative writing.

Poetry is a Journey in the Multigenre 360 Adventure.

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Everything Is a Story: Nonfiction that Reads like Fiction (Fall 2026)

In this Journey, mentees and mentors will explore the ways in which creative storytelling techniques can be applied to nonfiction writing of all kinds, from memoir and personal essay to op-ed and how-to articles. We will dive into what makes a story—from structural archetypes to writing that flows—and learn how to harness the power of story to make nonfiction compelling and transformative.

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Wild Ideas: Nature, Science & Creativity (Fall 2026)

Created in honor of Helen Ghiradella, the biologist who uncovered the hidden architecture of butterfly wings, this Journey invites you, mentor and mentee, to explore the natural world through the complementary lenses of scientific inquiry and creative expression. Through close observation, research, and reflection, you'll investigate the forms, patterns, and processes found in nature, then build an original project—writing, visual art, media, performance, music, or a form of your own choosing—that celebrates where these disciplines meet. Along the way, you'll sharpen your powers of observation, stretch your interdisciplinary thinking, and develop the ability to translate scientific understanding into meaningful art.

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Civil Discourse: Connection & Persuasion (Fall 2026)

In this Journey, you—mentor and mentee—will build essential skills in public speaking, argumentation, and critical thinking. Through hands-on activities and lively discussion, you'll learn to craft persuasive speeches, construct well-reasoned arguments, and present your ideas with confidence. You'll explore what makes communication land, sharpen your thinking under pressure, and practice responding to perspectives unlike your own in a structured setting. By the end, you'll be able to make your case clearly, engage in dialogue that goes somewhere, and carry these skills into academic, professional, and civic life.

Civil Discourse Connection & Persuasion; two girls speaking with a mic
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Dark Tales: A Horror Book Club (Fall 2026)

Step into the shadows of horror and discover what makes a story truly unsettling. Across three monthly book club meetings, you—mentor and mentee—will dig into close readings and lively discussion of selected works, examining how authors build suspense, conjure atmosphere, evoke fear, and use the genre to probe deeper social, psychological, and cultural questions. Together you'll unpack narrative technique, character development, and the many shapes the genre can take. By summer's end, you'll have a richer appreciation for horror, sharper critical instincts as readers, and a store of inspiration and craft to carry into your own writing. Required books this cycle: Dark Is When the Devil Comes by Daisy Pearce, The Body by Bethany C. Morrow, and I'll Watch Your Baby by Neena Viel.

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