Poetry is what you find
in the dirt in the corner,
overhear on the bus, God
in the details, the only way
to get from here to there.
Poetry (and now my voice is rising)
is not all love, love, love,
and I’m sorry the dog died.
Poetry (here I hear myself loudest)
is the human voice,
and are we not of interest to each other?
– from Ars Poetica #100: I Believe by Elizabeth Alexander
Course Details
This 6-week course invites you to explore universal human themes—love, loss, friendship, memory, joy, suffering, stillness, nature—through the lenses of Buddhist teaching, poetry and meditative awareness.
In each session, we will aim to balance universal human experience, Dharma practice, poetic language, and embodied meditative exercises. By the end, participants will have created a body of original poems or prose, written through the senses, reflecting their own Dharma journey.
The course is open to all—no prior experience with poetry or meditation is required.
Each week we will:
- Practice writing our own poetry or prose in dialogue with the week’s theme.
- Ground ourselves in a universal human theme.
- Explore a Dharma thread that illuminates the theme.
- Engage in a meditative writing exercise rooted in the six sense gates (seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, touching, thinking).
- Read and discuss 2–3 poems from Buddhist and secular poets.
Status
Enrollment for the next workshop starting February 13th is now open. This course is offered in collaboration with the Sati Center for Buddhist Studies, and registration can be accessed through this page.
Available course dates:
February 16th – March 23rd
(Feb 16, 23, March 2, 9, 16, 23)
Course timing (in US East Coast time zone):
Mondays 11am – 1pm EST
Pricing
Cost of one course:
Supporter – $250
Standard – $200
Subsidized – $125
Group size
Open
Instructor
Vanessa Able
Vanessa Able is a priest and novice teacher in the Soto Zen tradition. She is the leader of the online Introduction to Buddhist Chaplaincy Program at the Sati Center and teaches the Anukampa Practice Program alongside Gil Fronsdal. For many years, Vanessa wrote for the New York Times, Esquire and National Geographic Traveler magazines, as well as working as the Editor in Chief for Time Out Istanbul magazine. She now continues to connect with her love of poetry and prose through the website The Dewdrop, which she founded in 2018. Vanessa is the author of the book Never Mind the Bullocks. She lives in southern France with her family where she facilitates Zen practice at Matsu Do Zendo.
