Poetry as a Coping Tool: A Generative Workshop

Life tends to throw heavy stuff at us, and it's our job to manage our mental health through it all. This workshop walks us through methods for writing poetry as a coping tool through grief, loss, and trauma. From free writing and responding to prompts to observing our situation and trying a poetic form, poetry can help us process and manage our emotions through the heaviness.

Attendees will read poets like Sabrina Benaim, William Bortz, Ross Gay, and Jamaal May. Attendees will also have time each week to put the poetic coping tools into practice and generate their own poetry.

Instructor

Kelsey Bigelow is a poet and speaker based in Des Moines. She spends her time working as a mental health poet sharing this therapeutic tool with audiences of all ages across the world. She is the author of four poetry projects, including her latest book "Far From Broken." Her work is published with several small presses and journals. Kelsey is a 2024 Pushcart Prize nominee, a 2023 Button Poetry Video Contest Finalist, and a 2023 Central Avenue Poetry Prize finalist. As a performer, Kelsey has worked with organizations such as The Mayo Clinic, NAMI, Planned Parenthood, and more. Videos of her work can be found on Button Poetry, Write About Now, Ghost Poetry Show, and elsewhere.

She's the founder of the Des Moines Poetry Workshop, the chair for the Iowa Poetry Association Poetry Slam, a teaching artist in the Des Moines community, a director for the BlackBerry Peach National Poetry Slam, and a founding member of the 2025 io-what poetry slam team.