Poetry workshop celebrates empowerment of women

May 30—Kentuckians for the Commonwealth inspired creativity in Laurel County on Thursday, May 16, through a powerful poetry workshop.

Kentuckians for the Commonwealth is a grassroots organization consisting of thousands of members across the state of Kentucky. The workshop, Voices of Justice, focused on the celebration and empowerment of women and their perseverance.

The event was held at Laurel County Public Library, lasting two hours, beginning at 5:30 p.m. Participants will have the opportunity to read the poem they created on May 30 at the Livingston Depot.

Carl Weaver initiated the event, informing attendees of the success of the prior workshop and upcoming events. Weaver then welcomed Tiffany Pyette to take the podium. Pyette is a poet, visual artist, community organizer, and Co-Executive Director of the Appalachian Rekindling Project. She is passionate about helping others to explore the power and art of the spoken word.

Pyette began by having attendees share their name, pronouns, and last piece they wrote that felt creative. She was sure to clarify that this did not need to be limited to poetry and encouraged writers to share regardless of the form of writing. Attendees talked about recent poems and letters they had written before Pyette read a poem of her own.

Pyette then facilitated the poetry workshop, guiding attendees through the writing process with prompts for the writers to include in their poems. The poem could focus on a historical figure, family member, or even the writers themselves. Some of Pyette's prompts included thinking of a woman of strength, describing how the woman expressed her fierceness, deciphering a specific shade of a color associated with the woman, and describing how she fought and what she fought for.

Following the prompts, Pyette gave the writers an additional 20 minutes to review and tweak their pieces how they felt called to. The poems were welcome to be short or long. She also allowed attendees to discuss with someone else if needed. As the individuals made their final edits, Pyette played soothing and inspiring music to encourage them to enter their flow state and stimulate their creativity.

After providing 20 minutes to edit, Pyette then encouraged individuals to read their favorite line or stanza of the poem they created. The writers primarily wrote about family members that are special and inspiring to them. Another theme that was addressed in some of their works was how women lead by example to the people watching them.

"What I think is so powerful about the things that you all read is that you made the people that are really important to you very tangible, even in those small pieces that you have read. Thanks for letting me meet your people," Pyette closed.

Similar events held by the Kentuckians for the Commonwealth include their poetry slam on May 30 at Livingston Depot and a poetry slam on May 24 at the Laurel County African American Heritage Center. To learn more and follow additional upcoming events, visit their website archive.kftc.org/about-us.