Begins Monday, November 3rd, 2025

Class will meet weekly via Zoom on Mondays at 5:00 - 6:30PM Central

Any questions about this class? Use the Chat Button (lower left) to talk with us. 

Instructor Miriam Calleja is an award-winning poet, workshop leader, editor, artist, creativity expert, and translator. She speaks English, Maltese, and Italian. Her work has appeared in Taos, Plume, Modern Poetry in Translation, Humana Obscura, and elsewhere. Her full poetry collections are Pomegranate Heart (EDE Books, 2015) and Inside (EDE Books, 2016). Her poetry chapbooks are Remember (Stamparija Reljic, 2020), Stranger Intimacy (Stamparija Reljic, 2020), and Come Closer, I Don’t Mind the Silence (BottleCap Press, 2023); her book of poetry translated from Maltese is Variations on Silence (PoetryWala, 2025). She is a co-editor at Brick Road Poetry Press and the Prose Translation editor at table // FEAST. She is also the 2025 Artist-in-Residence for the Mobile Medical Museum. Miriam is from Malta and lives in Birmingham, Alabama.

This workshop invites participants to explore the restorative power of poetry as a form of secular prayer. With sensitivity, empathy, and inclusivity at its heart, this session provides a space where ritual becomes refuge and words become a healing force.

Throughout the workshop, participants will reflect on profound themes, including gratitude, transformation, friendship, healing, and grief. Through guided visualization, participants can meditate on the themes, grounding their emotions and thoughts in preparation for free writing. The session makes space for open conversations and paves the way for meaningful self-expression.

Specially curated poetry packs feature 6-8 thematically resonant works, such as Jeffrey Thomson’s "How it Burned" and Wislawa Szymborska’s "Could Have." These pieces serve as creative touchstones, helping participants discover techniques and inspirations for their own work.

Generative exercises foster creativity through prompts such as finding sacredness in everyday moments or honoring bonds with nature. The writing is then shared in a supportive and compassionate atmosphere, promoting connection and validation among all participants.

By the session’s close, participants will have created multiple first drafts and begun compiling their own personal "prayer book"—a collection of poetry, both written and discovered during the workshop, that will provide a source of comfort and inspiration moving forward.

This workshop represents more than writing; it is a space for reflection, healing, and the quiet reclamation of hope and strength through poetic expression.

CLASS OUTLINE:

Week 1: Intro to Self & Intro of Participants

Week 2: Change

Week 3: Food/Self-Compassion

Week 4: Gratitude

Week 5: Sleep/EcoPoetry

Week 6: Ars Poetica 

COURSE TAKEAWAYS: 

• Appreciation of close readings of poetry and discussion with like-minded and diverse participants.
• A toolbox for using poetry as a solace and as a jumping board for new drafts.
• Two to four fresh drafts per session with an invitation to edit for presentation during the last session.
• An environment that promotes vulnerability and openness to share feelings and writing.
• Participants have often been moved to tears and made breakthroughs during these sessions.
•  Exposure to new-to-them work via an international instructor.

TESTIMONIALS:

"On the never-ending journey to heal my inner child, I decided to start writing again in the spring of 2024. I walked into one of Miriam's weeknight writing workshops at the recommendation of a friend. I loved it. As I grew more confident through the monthly workshops, Miriam mentioned that she was developing a Poetry as Prayer workshop, the concept of creating poems to use as "solace and ritual - even if you already pray". I signed up right away. Throughout the 6-week workshop, Miriam shared thoughtfully crafted writing prompts and a beautifully curated collection of poetry to help inspire our own poems. Miriam's attention to detail and care in creating the curriculum for us was outstanding. I found community, healing, and inspiration among the other writers in the group. Though I was the least experienced writer in the group, it was a magical, safe space to share and create. I came away with a newfound sense of self, and a notebook full of poetry drafts that I love and plan to continue developing in 2025." -former student

Miriam is one of the kindest, most intelligent teachers I have ever had. I am grateful to learn from her, and I believe all writers, new and seasoned, could benefit from a workshop (or workshop series!) with her." -former student

"Miriam, I enjoyed and learned from this experience. While I had to carve out the time every day, I felt rewarded by a sense of having struggled with the meaning of my words. Recognizing and writing thoughts brought clarity to questions. The process also created new questions of thoughts, definitions and how to express them. Thanks for helping me with that process. You made thinking fun." -former student

"Miriam, thank you for investing in us." -former student

"So much fun discovering new ways of looking at things." -former student

ONLINE COURSE STRUCTURE:

This class meets weekly via Zoom. Come prepared for a super fun class with live interaction on Zoom each week and plenty of writing, reading, and talking.

PAYMENT OPTIONS:

• Instructor: Miriam Calleja
• Begins Monday, November 3rd, 2025
  
• Class will meet weekly via Zoom on Mondays at 5:00 - 6:30PM Central
• Tuition is $395