Writing Home Outside & Within: A poetry Writing and Publishing Program for Middle School Students
The saying goes, “Home is where the heart is,” but for some people home may not include a registered address. Home may be wherever we are or wherever we go. For others, home is where there is shelter that keeps the cold air from getting in at night. Where borders are loosely defined or where boundaries are held tight. For another group, home is what we decide to make and take from other places to call our own. Home may be a place that is built by dreams, beliefs, and a vision of legacy. Home may be the center of one’s heart where each beat vibrates the sound of contentment. Home may be a place we run from while others run to. For some, home is laughter, hearing “six-seven” for the umpteenth time, and the smell of nag champa, refritos or gumbo (not together, of course) wafting from an East Oakland apartment window.
In Writing Home Outside and Within, we will co-create a space where you will be able to unapologetically and wholeheartedly write original poems where you speak your truth about the idea of home and what it means to you. Teaching Artist Belinda Bellinger will guide you through mindful moments, movement rituals, craft practices, and writing exercises that jump-start your imagination and whimsy while grounding you in words that feel real, stable, and whole.
Program Details:
Day/Time: Thursdays, 4:00pm-5:30pm
Dates: September 10, 2026-December 10, 2026
Students: 6th-8th Grade
Location: 546 9th Street, Oakland, CA 94607 (in Bookmaking Studio)
Cost: $300, no one turned away for lack of funds (see sliding scale options at the bottom of this registration form)
Teaching Artist Bio: Belinda Bellinger (Be, they) is a writer, educator, organizer. They hold a BA in Liberal Arts from Sarah Lawrence College and a Single-Subject Teaching Credential in English from Loyola Marymount University. They are a teaching artist at Chapter 510. They are currently working on a project of poems and essays and their work has been featured in RaceBaitr and The Seventh Wave.