Why Poetry? Unlock Your Doors!

Dare to discover who you are! This series of four poetry sessions will not only enrich your writing, but will open doors to your creative self; walk through any one that suits you. All levels welcome.

Teacher Bio:
Award-winning poet and Pushcart Prize nominee, Pat Mottola teaches Creative Writing at Southern Connecticut State University, where she earned both an M.S. in Art Education and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing. In addition to working with students at SCSU, she is thrilled to teach both art and poetry to Senior Citizens in person and online throughout Connecticut. Her work is published in journals across the country, including War, Literature & the Arts, Connecticut Review, Main Street Rag, San Pedro River Review, VietNow Magazine, and Paterson Literary Review. She has served as Keynote Speaker for the MPAC-Young Writers Awards as well as judged Connecticut High School Poetry Out Loud competitions. Pat is President of the Connecticut Poetry Society and served as editor of Connecticut River Review from 2012–2017. On a global scale, she mentors Afghan women writers living in Afghanistan and beyond, resulting in a collection of poems in English, Maybe I Should Fly, by two Afghan sisters who lived under the Taliban regime. She is the author of three collections of poetry: Under the Red Dress, After Hours, and A Town Like That. Pat was the recipient of the prestigious CSCU system-wide Board of Regents Outstanding Teacher Award in 2019, as well as the J. Philip Smith Outstanding Teacher Award in 2021. Pat is the Poet Laureate of Cheshire, CT.

$150 gets you 90 minutes of instruction in the Workshop Gallery at Ball & Socket Arts from 7 to 8:30 pm on four consecutive Thursday nights with Pat Mottola from September 4th to September 25th.

If cost is a barrier to participation, please reach out to our team by emailing info@ballandsocket.org to discuss accommodations.

Workshop is limited to 12 participants, so be sure to register now!