Through a combination of prompts, discussion, critiques, and contemporary readings, students will focus on how to find poems in the world around us—mining memory and observation to uncover compelling subjects.

Rather than following inherited forms, students will be encouraged to build their own poetic structures—experimenting with repetition, enjambment, silence, and syntax to shape each poem’s unique architecture. If you’ve ever struggled to know what to write about or felt boxed in by rhyme and meter, this class offers tools to reconnect with poetry as a living, evolving art form.

Cost: $279.00

Duration: 4 weeks, 1 class per week

Dates: Tuesdays, July 8 - July 29

Time: 6 - 9pm (3 hours)

Location: DeBruce Bldg. CAMPUS MAP

About the Instructor:

Bernadette Negrete is a poet, multidisciplinary artist, and educator who draws inspiration from language, material, and the quiet tenderness of everyday life. Through writing and visual art, she explores themes of sexuality, family, and feeling—rooted in her experience as a Mexican-American woman. She earned her BFA in Painting from the Kansas City Art Institute in 2022 and deepened her connection to tactile process through a papermaking apprenticeship with local artist Kelsey Pike of Sustainable Paper and Craft. Today, Bernadette works out of her studio at Agnes Arts and shares her love for community as an educator at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.

Supplies: The instructor will contact registered students directly regarding materials and supplies.

Parking: Parking is available in any of the (NON-RESERVED) KCAI parking lot spaces across campus. There is also available street parking surrounding KCAI campus.

Refund: Registered participants can receive refunds to the original payment method (Studio Fee minus Humanitix Fee) up to 14 days before the first class.