Brooklyn Poets Craft Lab: Water as Method: Image & Syntax with Patrycja Humienik

Sliding scale admission: Limited tickets available at each price point

What can water teach us about craft? In this craft lab, we will explore approaches that different bodies of water offer for considering image and syntax. We will read together and try out generative exercises, including (optional) embodied experiments.⁠

This developing experiment, "Water is Method," is informed by bodies of water and the work of Natalie Diaz, Terrance Hayes, Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, CA Conrad and Jean Valentine, among others. Whether you want to explore water as method in your writing process; have a connection with a specific body of water to write into; seek tools for writing into grief over a changing climate; or seek to deepen an understanding of image and syntax—you are invited.

All participants will have access to a cloud recording of the craft lab for one month afterward. The recording will be shared within a week following the craft lab.

Closed captions for the event will be available via Zoom. To request additional accommodations or more information, please contact us at bkp@brooklynpoets.org. Note that by attending you agree to abide by our code of conduct below.

About the teacher

Patrycja Humienik is the author ofWe Contain Landscapes (Tin House, 2025), finalist for the 2026 Nossrat Yassini Poetry Prize and selected as a New York Public Library Best Book of 2025. An editor and teaching artist, Patrycja has developed writing and movement workshops for Brooklyn Poets, Northwest Film Forum, Arts+Literature Laboratory, Poets House, Henry Art Gallery and in prisons. Her work can be found in the New Yorker, the Atlantic, Poetry Daily, Poetry Society of America, The Slowdown, and elsewhere. She is working on her first novel.

About our Craft Labs

Our Craft Labs are three-hour webinars offering deep-dives into elements of poetic craft, ranging from formal techniques to approaches to the writing process and revision. These sessions are primarily lecture-based, but often include guided writing activities and end with a Q&A with the instructor. An integral part of our Mentorship Program curriculum, the labs are the only part of the curriculum open to the public. These are open to writers of all backgrounds and experience levels. These are structured as webinars, so attendees will not be on video during the talk but can interact via the chat.

By attending this group you agree to abide by our policies below. Thank you for respecting our community!

Our Policies: Community Agreements, Mask Policy, and Accessibility

Community Agreements

At Brooklyn Poets, we are committed to creating and maintaining an inclusive, welcoming and nurturing environment, which allows for mental, emotional and physical well-being, free from intentional harm. We value personal accountability, responsibility and respect for those participating.

We understand that each of us will misstep because we are continuously learning, and we lead with the assumption that others are doing the best they can with the knowledge and experiences they have. We also believe that each of us, individually and collectively, has a responsibility to acknowledge and address behaviors that harm others. We do not tolerate discrimination, harassment or harm based on factors of identity. If harm occurs, we will intervene using a harm-reductionist, transformative justice framework.

To ensure that we are creating and maintaining a space that aligns with our values, we ask that all participants, staff, faculty, board members, collaborators and community members challenge themselves to meet the following principles:

Center community
Show up with an active commitment to move outside of the systems and norms that perpetuate harm, particularly the intersecting systems of oppression and marginalization that cause the most harm to the most vulnerable amongst us. Challenge yourself to listen without defensiveness when others in the community tell you that your actions have caused harm. Create space for learning and repair while giving yourself compassion when your impact does not align with your intent.

Engage with intention
You’ve chosen to be here for a reason, so while you’re here: Listen fully when others are speaking. Speak authentically. Be aware of the space you take up and ensure you’re creating space for others. Make the most of what we can offer each other.

Embrace uncertainty and (principled) discomfort
Remain open to new ideas, methods or approaches, even if they don’t align with your expectations or preferences. Recognize that the work needed to move through tensions, disagreements, complexities and harms in ways that honor a shared commitment to growth often require us to spend time feeling uncertain and uncomfortable.

Respect, affirm and uplift one another
Respect others' perspectives and identities shared with you—including race, cultural background, gender expression and pronouns, sexual orientation, religion, class identity and ability. Don’t make assumptions about anyone’s identity, background or experiences.

Respect your own well-being
Prioritize your own physical, mental and emotional well-being—stretch, eat, drink water, go off camera, take a breath, use the restroom or step outside when needed. Reach out to your instructor, classmates or Brooklyn Poets staff when you need help or support in doing so. If you need accommodations to help you do so, reach out to bkp@brooklynpoets.org.

These principles reflect our collective commitment to creating an environment that acknowledges, supports and values all community members. Individual workshops and other spaces may create additional agreements for collective engagement. If you have an experience to share or a need for mediation, please email feedback@brooklynpoets.org, which will send your message to everyone noted below and is the fastest path to reach us. If you’re more comfortable contacting someone individually, or your experience relates to one of the individuals listed, you can contact anyone listed individually and we'll get back to you as soon as possible.

Executive Director r kay: kay@brooklynpoets.org
Board President Eugenia Leigh: eugenia.leigh@gmail.com
Board Vice-President Miller Oberman: miller.oberman@gmail.com

Brooklyn Poets reserves the right to dismiss anyone from our programs (without refund) for actions deemed detrimental to staff, faculty, and/or other participants. This includes but is not limited to making unwanted sexual comments and/or advancements; using misogynistic, homophobic, transphobic, ableist, and/or racially insensitive language; and aggressive or belligerent behavior.

These community agreements are heavily indebted to our own Transformative Justice work with Community Jewelbox and the following organizations we looked to for inspiration in terms of structure: Cave Canem & Tin House.

Accessibility

Closed captions will be available for the event through the Zoom livestream. For more information and to request additional accommodations, contact us at bkp@brooklynpoets.org.