Arts Playlist: Delaware Shakespeare’s ‘Love Poem’ poetry workshop

By Kyle McKinnon

Published February 3, 2023 at 8:37 AM EST

A banner advertising Delaware Shakespeare’s ‘Create Your Own Love Poem’ Workshop

William Shakespeare, Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson, and Maya Angelou are just a few of the great poets who each masterfully wielded words and showcased poetry's uncanny ability to calm, console, and connect us to the minds and feelings of others.

Chances are, you’ve read or written poetry in some form. But whether you have or not, you now have an opportunity through Delaware Shakespeare’s ‘Create Your Own Love Poem’ Workshop.

In this week’s edition of Arts Playlist, our Kyle McKinnon spoke with Rachel O'Hanlon-Rodriguez – poet, actor, teaching artist, and instructor of Delaware Shakespeare’s poetry workshop – about the workshop and all things poetry.

Delaware Public Media's Kyle McKinnon previews Delaware Shakespeare’s poetry workshop with poet Rachel O'Hanlon-Rodriguez

Are you interested in writing your own love poem? A workshop will help you create your one.

If you’re a fan of love poems, and you’ve always wanted to construct your own – especially with Valentine’s Day around the corner – help is available.

Delaware Shakespeare holds its ‘Create Your Own Love Poem’ Workshop this month.

Rachel O’Hanlon-Rodriguez is leading the workshop. She says poetry can be so special.

"I feel like poetry is about taking up space both for yourself, and when you share a poem with others it's an offering, it's a gift from your body, from your perspective to another," said O’Hanlon-Rodriguez.

There’s no promise your writing will be of the caliber of William Shakespeare, Emily Dickinson, or Maya Angelou, but you will get the necessary guidance to write a poem.

"There's going to be opportunities to adapt your own Shakespeare if that's what you feel excited about. There's going to be writing prompts to be like, what image comes to mind when we consider a couple of these questions, right? Like what does love feel like? What does love taste like? What does love smell like? We all have a different answer to that, and I think all of them are beautiful," said O’Hanlon-Rodriguez.

You can get more information at Delshakes.org, and there’s a banner on the homepage for the session Saturday.

If you missed the first session this past Saturday, you will be able to get the material from that session.

It costs $50 for individuals and $25 for artists and anyone who makes $30,000 a year or less.