Bi-Monthly By Ryan #16

Dear Friends,

Happy spring! I decided to take the winter off from writing my newsletter. During this time, I have done so much, including laying out and ordering ten of my poetry projects, and I also switched back to writing exclusively by hand.

The process of laying out and ordering so many poetry projects simultaneously has been fascinatingly revealing to me, in terms of the range and scope of each project. I can clearly see the edges of each project, and am endlessly thankful for past versions of myself, who set me up for so much success with my organizational prowess. Briefly, my poetry is organized into three databases which allow me to quickly and easily access and assess my work, as I make my way through laying out and ordering my projects.

Doing such a large quantity of work at once is interesting and revealing for me. I reveal myself to myself by way of my systems and structures of organization, which help me decide how I want to present myself publicly, and then prepare my manuscripts while maintaining my peace of mind. I reduce the movement of my actual work by engaging first with my titles alone, during a process I call my “title work,” in which I reduce so much internal and external chaos during my creative process.

I have made some changes to my spring and early summer course offerings. If you have been following along on Instagram, you might notice some changes in my course offerings. Here are my upcoming offerings:

• Letters to Our Homes (Open to BIPOC Adoptees Only!) / Sundays, April 6-May 25 @ 3-4:30pm EST (8 Classes) [New Time]

• Letter Writing as a Spiritual Practice (Open to Everyone!) / Saturdays, May 24-July 12 @ 1-2:30pm EST (8 Classes) [New Day and Time]

• Let’s Thrive Together: A Poetry Workshop for Adoptees Only (Open to All Adoptees Only) / Sundays, June 15-July 20 @ Time TBD (6 Classes)

Please reach out to me directly to sign up for any of my classes! I am excited to be offering a second year of classes after a fruitful first year of doing so for the first time ever! I am working on an updated flyer to post on social media, too!

I want to end this newsletter with a special shout out to Shannon Hardt and Katelyn Durst Rivas, who hosted an incredible fundraiser event called Locating Our Ghosts, in support of my GoFundMe campaign. The evening was so beautiful, and was such a testament to the power of sharing our stories! I am so appreciative of their efforts, and also everyone who has donated, and am humbly honored to announce that my fundraiser is 35% funded.

Thanks for reading along. Did you miss me this winter? I would love to hear from you!

Love, Ryan <3

linktr.ee/ryanartes