I loved that TWH didn’t operate from a literary hierarchy, and brought MFA/academics and non-MFA writers to the same table under the belief that we all have something valuable to offer. The classroom is everywhere and I dug that TWH made sure everyone felt welcomed.

I love the feeling of truly seeing each other. We see you tribe! A call and response that truly means something.

The Tribe!! The space to be vulnerable on the page and out loud. To affirm and receive affirmation. I am in awe of the amazing people–our words, our vibe, us. It is a gift meet strangers who feel like home.

This is the place to get free! My Being was held and deeply affirmed which allowed the space for the collective magic to roll, which allowed the writing to unveil something I couldn’t see before. The experience with Paul Tran particularly opened me to a possibility i was hesitant to approach, Vocab released the joy from the journey, and Joshua reconnected me to the cosmos.

I absolutely loved the crafts talks, the depth of information, the resource sharing, and the support and encouragement. I learned so many technical aspects of poetic form and close readings that weren’t even covered in my MFA. I loved the support and encouragement everyone that facilitated or spoke received. I also loved that everything was used as a teaching/learning moment, even the reading of bios. Lastly, my absolute favorite thing was the guided meditations and the vulnerable moments from the facilitators.

Being someone who doesn’t have any education background in poetry outside of a few units in middle and high school. I felt intimidated coming into this retreat. But becoming a part of tribe really helped me grow as a poet AND a person. The Watering Hole gives you more than just opportunity to create more work and advice on pieces. It gives you a safe space to explore the artform and tool that is poetry. It gives a community that lasts long after the retreat officially ends. It gives love and life to all those who are able to attend.

There’s a point in a sonnet called a volta, it’s a point of transformation on which the whole poem turns. It can be a pivot both to roar, and to stillness; into joy, into hope, into a kind of peace. From love deeper still into love, from the moment I stepped into this space; The Watering Hole has been my volta. This is the space upon which my life has turned and bloomed into more than I ever could have imagined alone.

I feel foundationally changed by my experience with TWH. I may sound naive but I did not know there was a space for BIPOC poets in this world; I thought I had to cobble it together one person at a time like I had in the past, or worse, make myself submit to predominantly white spaces just for a chance at community. Now I know I can bring my whole self to a group of people that will do the same in return; a group of people that loves poetry in all its myriad forms; a group of people that believe in honesty as a way to get free. I loved witnessing this reality at TWH, and all of that was on Zoom. I can’t imagine what its like in person 🙂

TWH is warm succotash over cornbread. Since attending TWH in 2020, I was able to secure my first publication, and 6 more publications in one year — including an Honorable Mention for the Auburn Witness Poetry Prize judged by Jericho Brown for Southern Humanities Review. I have built a poetry community, started an MFA, and attended several fellowships and workshops. All within 12 months!! All because TWH took a chance on me, informing my work and advancing my future. Thank you TWH for seeing me and giving me a sacred home.

The workshop gave me a chance to learn from some amazing poets – not just the leaders and facilitators but an awesome group of peers – and feel like part of a community that understood me. It was well beyond your average Zoom workshop experience this year even in its virtual form, so naturally I can’t wait to experience it in-person! I feel very inspired to continue writing poetry and sharing my unique perspective with the world

The Black Excellence is everything I thought it would be! Workshops amazing, poignant, and thought-provoking. An instant tribe of like-minded creatives. What’s better than that? Nothing!!!

I loved that The Watering Hole’s driving principles are love for the community of writers and belief that Black poetry is valuable and can live and thrive outside of the world of academia. TWH reminds us that there is no one way to be a poet, no one way to come into this craft, but so so much we can learn by being in fellowship with one another.

I feel foundationally changed by my experience with TWH. I may sound naive but I did not know there was a space for BIPOC poets in this world; I thought I had to cobble it together one person at a time like I had in the past, or worse, make myself submit to predominantly white spaces just for a chance at community. Now I know I can bring my whole self to a group of people that will do the same in return; a group of people that loves poetry in all its myriad forms; a group of people that believe in honesty as a way to get free. I loved witnessing this reality at TWH, and all of that was on Zoom. I can’t imagine what its like in person 🙂

The Watering Hole retreat gave me a sense of home and purpose, so that even when I am outnumbered or marginalized in other contexts, I can think back to my time with my TWH family to find solace and strength

The Watering Hole provides at its core a space to build community. A rallying point for Black poets to come and simply exist together if nothing else. I appreciated that.

I loved the diversity of the instruction from the facilitators including in the peer led sessions. Everyone was brilliant. Paul Tran was awesome. The joy of being steeped in good poetry again and having the freedom to be refreshed was glorious. I can’t neglect how important it was to have a resident therapist on board. It felt like everything had been considered to create a space that was safe beyond the simple idea of ‘safe spaces’. Thank you

everything!!! it’s the community for me. everyone showing love and care for each other. no hierarchy, no secret keeping, just collective care and so much generosity in sharing knowledge, story and passion

The Watering Hole has been a remarkably transformative experience for me. Some of my best friends I grew closer to because of this process. I’ve grown a profound amount of confidence in my work because of this process. I move through the world with more intention because I know so many people have my back and want me to succeed. Long live The Watering Hole

I have had the opportunity to share space with many poets in various places, but I have never soaked up both love and learning in the way that I did at The Watering Hole. I can only be better now. Thank you.

The thing I loved the most about the retreat were the workshops. I enjoyed learning so closely with some of my favorite poets and performing artists, and being able to share my work with them. Hearing their thoughts about the process to do what it is they do was also fascinating and inspiriting to say the least. In my workshops we listening to audio files of poetry, read other writer’s work off paper, and even enjoyed an occasional joke or two about our drafts that came out of the exercises too. We had fun. It was liberating to feel so close and at home with some people I did not know. The living room style workshops are transformative for creative energy and character building. Thank you The Watering Hole for the opportunity!

The opportunity to be immersed in poetry while surrounded by a loving Tribe was amazing. I grew in my craft exponentially, even though the focus was not on critique. The openness the facilitators and their willingness to address both craft and the “business” of poetry was invaluable. Getting to finally see myself as a poet was priceless.

So much transfer happened in a short amount of time. TWH is not only about going higher. It’s about going deeper. The retreat not only made me examine my writing, it also made me examine myself as an artist, challenge myself creatively and examine what I’m resisting submitting to as an artist and why.

The Watering Hole’s warm and yet consistently challenging environment facilitates a perfect balance of craft development and community-building.

I did not have the ability to continue my education due to financial restraints, but due to the work of Candace Wiley and Monifa Lemons, I’ve been fortunate enough to study with some of the most prolific writers in contemporary poetry.

I have gone on to receive fellowships from both Cave Canem (2016) and Callaloo (2016 & 2017); become a committee chair of the National Black Writers Conference at Medgar Evers College, CUNY; become the Features Editor for The Blueshift Journal; and developed several public community programs – all of which would have been possible if I had not attended my first TWH retreat in 2015.