Creativity

Each experience is crafted to encourage your intuitive choices. Historical contextualization will ground the direction of the lesson in an effort to inspire imagination.

Generation

Creating new work is a core component. The structure ignites unique ways to begin writing both in and out of the collective literary experience.

Revision

Finding the best editing process for your current project is crucial. Several serial studio sessions include one-on-one sessions with María Fernanda to focus on your work.

Experiences with these components may find their form as:

• Public Readings

• Literary workshops

• Poetry Field Trips

• Youth Programs (Request One Pager here)

• Lectures

a poetry garden

Join Black poets and gardeners as they discuss their creative and historic connections to the gardens in our community. Each guest speaker lives and creates work within ten miles of the event’s location. To increase the collective exchange between the speakers and our beloved community, a seed discussion precedes the presentations.

A seed discussion, developed by executive producer María Fernanda, is a brief ten-minute conversation open to the audience.

More programming launched by María Fernanda:

honoring nikki giovanni in the District

the clear water series

Public Readings

Lectures

Poetry Field Trips (Request One Pager here)

Middle School Public Readings Tours

In-school Poetry Workshops

Participants from María Fernanda’s collective literary experience share their reflections:

The Nikki Giovanni tribute this Sunday blew me away. The people brought together—as featured guests and audience members—and the poems themselves...I am still riding on the joy of it all! We need spaces like that in these times, so thank you for doing such important cultural work.

— This is Your Poem: A Tribute to Nikki Giovanni event attendee

María Fernanda is a fantastic writing instructor. Her warmth and dedication to craft and to us were genuine and deeply felt. She created a safe and comfortable place for us to experiment with completely new forms. The conference we had together was one of the best one-on-one sessions I’ve had in ages. Balancing critique and praise in words that one can really comprehend and use, is a difficult concept to master. She did this brilliantly and motivated me to work on my revision. […] Since publishing my book in 2012, I thought I had said everything I wanted to say […]. But now, after being in this workshop, I am fascinated by the Zuihitsu form and am ready to keep going!

—Break a Vase participant, established writer

Maria Fernanda is a dynamic facilitator with tons of artistic knowledge that she shares generously, in a truly engaging and inspiring way.  She provides very unique and powerful learning opportunities where individual growth and community connections are quickly forged.

—Assemblage participant

I would have liked the class to be another week or more. It was so much fun.

—Years That Ask participant in a four-week course

The warm and welcoming energy allowed me to feel comfortable participating alongside more experienced poets.

— Reading Lucille Clifton Through a Desert Lens participant, beginner

My favorite part was learning new things, working with new materials [to make a broadside by hand] and reading the poems provided.

— New Language participant

I've always been afraid of writing about certain topics. When I saw what Break a Vase was all about, it was a sign. Working with María Fernanda in this workshop has helped me to finally work through the feedback that I had received when I wrote about these topics. For me, workshops are like chains of insight that build upon each other if the poet does the work in-between sessions. [...] I am so highly appreciative of what I have learned from María Fernanda. I am set to go to California College of the Arts to get an MFA in Creative Writing. My concentration is Prose, but this workshop has made me think of the possibilities of poetry, in many forms.

—Break a Vase participant

I thoroughly enjoyed María Fernanda’s class. I loved its dynamism. I was not expecting so much interaction and participation from the very get go! I enjoyed the opportunity to create and explore on the spot and to hear other people's voices and ideas. I appreciate María Fernanda’s professionalism and her firm boundaries. Her rich knowledge and poetic spirit shined through in her comments, explanations and examples. Thank you. I particularly liked how María Fernanda had music playing at the beginning of the very first class, it set a relaxed vibe. I felt like I could've been sitting in a cafe or comfy arts space. Thank you. It was a pleasure to meet María Fernanda and work with her. I hope to have this opportunity again in the future.

—Break a Vase participant

I appreciated the collaborative exercise, the use of technology to facilitate engagement (breakout rooms, slideshow photos as writing prompts), and the 1:1 meeting to review the course assignment. I appreciated the peer review and the opportunity to receive feedback on my work.

—Break a Vase participant

I really enjoyed the course, and look forward to future courses. The virtual nature allowed me to participate in ways that I would not have been able to prior.

—Break a Vase participant

María Fernanda was an outstanding instructor. She quickly developed a warm and welcoming atmosphere allowing us to experiment freely with a new poetic form. Her knowledge of the subject and ability to maintain the excitement for the topic was excellent.

—Break a Vase participant

Thank you, María Fernanda, for the excellent class. My writing got a huge boost. I’ve written several poems during the class and they all surprised me. I love that!

—Years That Ask participant

It as really well balanced from the reading writing and someone’s work from out there

—Years That Ask participant

Thank you so much I’ve grown now I can feel all the work that I have head of me.

—Years That Ask participant

I’ve been taking notecards and I feel totally unstuck learning about different forms.

—Years That Ask participant

I don't typically write poetry but I have felt so stuck lately that I wanted to try something different—to write differently. And I loved it. I love Lucille Clifton.

— Reading Lucille Clifton Through a Desert Lens participant

María Fernanda makes the words on the page breathe. Her command of language and poetic structure gave us permission to explore and reflect deeply on what we wanted to create and say. Expressive, engaging, and dynamic…Absolutely magical.

— So You! workshop participant