Art is for Everyone - Poetry Workshop Series

In leadup to June’s Art is for Everyone-themed Last Friday & the Art Walk, the Hillsborough Arts Council is hosting an outdoor Poetry Workshop Series. We invite you to spend a sunny afternoon (or three) refining your creative writing and public speaking skills, inspired by time and place in Hillsborough, NC, and guided by professional literary artists.

Join esteemed local poets, sharing a diverse variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and styles, in River Park on Sunday afternoons, June 11, 18, and 25, 2023 from 1-4pm. Register for the date(s) that work for you, or bundle them together for a discount.

No experience necessary. Open to everyone, 16 and up.

$15 per workshop

$40 for the series

Introducing Our Teaching Artists:

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Sunday, June 11, 1-4pm - Gary Phillips is a life-long North Carolinian born in Appalachia and long-term resident of Chatham County, is the 2016-2018 poet laureate of Carrboro. He is a writer, naturalist, and entrepreneur with a special interest in conservation and land-protective strategies. He is also a real estate broker with Weaver Street Realty, which he co-founded over thirty years ago... Learn more about Gary Philliips.

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Sunday, June 18, 1-4pm - Khalisa Rae, based in Durham, NC, is an award-winning, multi-hyphenate poet, educator, and culture journalist, serving as Senior Writer at Jezebel. As a former English professor and public school teaching artist, Khalisa’s passion lies in uplifting women and youth through community engagement. Her first chapbook, Real Girls Have Real Problems, was published in 2012 by Jacar Press and later adapted into a sold-out play called, “The Seven Deadly Sins of Being a Woman”... Learn more about Khalisa Rae.

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Sunday, June 25, 1-4pm - Christopher Massenburg, better known as Dasan Ahanu, is a public speaker, organizer, curator, educator, poet, spoken word artist, songwriter, emcee, and loyal Hip Hop-head born and raised in Raleigh, NC. In 2023, Dasan was named the 15th Piedmont Laureate, as the second poet to hold the post... Learn more about Dasan Ahanu.

*This program is supported by the Orange County Arts Commission and the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.