A woman with dark curly hair, wearing a denim vest over a t-shirt, speaks into a microphone in the foreground, while the background features bold yellow and green text announcing a virtual writing workshop.

Split This Rock

LXCL:Split This Rock is committed to providing more affordable options for paid poetry programs. This ticket is discounted to make the workshop more financially accessible. Thank you for participating in Split This Rock programming and contributing to our fundraising efforts!

Discounted Ticket

LXCL:This ticket covers the cost of attending this workshop. Thank you for participating in Split This Rock programming and contributing to our fundraising efforts!

Workshop Attendance Ticket

LXCL:This ticket covers the cost of attending this workshop and also provides an additional boost to our ongoing fundraising efforts. Your generosity contributes to our campaign to carry Split This Rock through a challenging funding landscape and sustain our mission in the long-term. Thank you for championing our work!

Fundraising Booster Ticket

ABOUT THE VIRTUAL WORKSHOPUntrue Blue: An Introduction to Ekphrastic WritingEkphrastic writing is often defined as a true-blue description of something, typically artwork. In this workshop, we will explore ekphrasis as a way of writing with&nbsp;rather than about images, including but not limited to visual art. How can ekphrastic writing tell stories that are less evident by contextualizing, interrogating, and elaborating beyond an image? If, as poet Andrea Abi-Karam writes, &ldquo;ekphrasis is a way to talk to the dead,&rdquo; how can we harness it to betray that which haunts us? We will explore these questions through discussion, readings, and generative writing.&nbsp; Please note: this is a virtual workshop.&nbsp; ABOUT THE FACILITATORTala Khanmalek&nbsp;aka mecca monarch (all pronouns) is a writer, editor, and scholar with a PhD in ethnic studies from UC Berkeley. Tala is author of The Sun Planters (Asemana Books) and An Infinity of Traces (Blue Cactus Press) as well as the children&#39;s book My Name Means Free (Blue Cactus Press), among other titles in progress. Tala&#39;s work has been widely published and supported, including by a Creative Capital Award. Tala was a First Reader for Split This Rock&rsquo;s Poem of the Week Series and is proud to have three poems in The Quarry: A Social Justice Poetry Database. &nbsp; ACCESSIBILITYAccessibility is a core value for Split This Rock. We strive to provide programs, materials, and communications that allow people within the disability community to engage fully. Zoom auto-captions will be provided. Written versions of poem prompts and poems used for discussion will be provided via screen share, the chat, or links. Split This Rock does not consent to the use of AI notetakers in our workshops. If this is an access barrier for you, please let us know. Let us know of any accessibility questions or accommodation requests via the workshop registration form or by emailing info@splitthisrock.org with &quot;ACCESS REQUEST&quot; in the subject line by Tuesday, October 6th. Given our ongoing funding challenges, we cannot promise accessibility services, but will do our best to provide accommodations. ABOUT SPLIT THIS ROCKSplit This Rock is the only national organization with a mission to integrate poetry and social justice. We materially support poets who are often excluded and underrepresented in the literary landscape, particularly those who are BIPOC, LGBTQ, disabled or chronically ill, and/or working class. With strong commitments to racial, gender, economic, and disability justice, we work to expand the horizons of inclusion and assert the transformative power of language to bear witness to injustice and provoke social change. We believe poetry acts as an agent for change by revealing the diversity and complexity of human experience, reflecting on daily lives and struggles, considering personal and social responsibility, and envisioning a better world. Learn more at Split This Rock&#39;s <a fr-original-style="" href="http://splitthisrock.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration-color: currentcolor; user-select: auto; box-sizing: inherit;" target="_blank">website</a>.

Dear <span contenteditable="false" data-custom-variable="{{firstname}}" fr-original-class="fr-deletable styled-tag-chip" fr-original-style="" style="color: rgb(42, 42, 196); overflow-wrap: anywhere; user-select: none; background-color: rgb(248, 248, 255); border: 1px solid rgb(191, 191, 255); border-radius: 4px; margin: 0px; padding: 1px 8px; font-size: 11px; display: inline-block; box-sizing: inherit;">First name, Thank you for registering for Untrue Blue: An Introduction to Ekphrastic Writing, a Split This Rock virtual workshop with Tala Khanmalek. Join the workshop on Tuesday, October 20, 2026 at 6:30 pm ET with the following Zoom information:&nbsp;<ul fr-original-style="" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><li fr-original-style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); box-sizing: inherit;"><a fr-original-style="" href="https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82858916885?pwd=qILv1Oqvj0mIbpEwp9R6eIaWHUb6Lu.1" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration-color: currentcolor; user-select: auto; box-sizing: inherit;" target="_blank">Join Zoom Meeting</a></li><li fr-original-style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); box-sizing: inherit;">Meeting ID: 828 5891 6885</li><li fr-original-style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); box-sizing: inherit;">Passcode: 470613</li><li fr-original-style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); box-sizing: inherit;">Join by Phone (US): +13052241968,,82858916885#,,,,*470613#&nbsp;</li><li fr-original-style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); box-sizing: inherit;"><a fr-original-style="" href="https://us02web.zoom.us/meetings/82858916885/invitations?signature=IHJ9PcbbkgMIdVekdfRYud3s-m-YspNB91CS_2mIvZo" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration-color: currentcolor; user-select: auto; box-sizing: inherit;" target="_blank">Join instructions</a></li></ul>Please do not share this Zoom information with anyone else. When you join the workshop, please be sure your Zoom name matches the name you used to purchase your ticket. If your name does not match the name used to purchase your ticket, a Split This Rock staff member may reach out to you privately via the chat to confirm your name.&nbsp; If you have questions about the workshop, please reach out to us at info@splitthisrock.org with &ldquo;WORKSHOP QUESTION&rdquo; in the subject line.&nbsp; To request accommodations, please email the same address with &ldquo;ACCESS REQUEST&rdquo; in the subject line by Tuesday, October 6th. Given Split This Rock&#39;s ongoing funding challenges, we cannot promise accessibility services, but will do our best to provide accommodations.&nbsp; We look forward to sharing space with you at the workshop. We&#39;ll be in touch with reminders and additional information as the workshop date gets closer.&nbsp; With gratitude,&nbsp;Split This Rock

ABOUT THE VIRTUAL WORKSHOPUntrue Blue: An Introduction to Ekphrastic WritingEkphrastic writing is often defined as a true-blue description of something, typically artwork. In this workshop, we will explore ekphrasis as a way of writing with rather than about images, including but not limited to visual art. How can ekphrastic writing tell stories that are less evident by contextualizing, interrogating, and elaborating beyond an image? If, as poet Andrea Abi-Karam writes, “ekphrasis is a way to talk to the dead,” how can we harness it to betray that which haunts us? We will explore these questions through discussion, readings, and generative writing.  Please note: this is a virtual workshop.  ABOUT THE FACILITATORTala Khanmalek aka mecca monarch (all pronouns) is a writer, editor, and scholar with a PhD in ethnic studies from UC Berkeley. Tala is author of The Sun Planters (Asemana Books) and An Infinity of Traces (Blue Cactus Press) as well as the children's book My Name Means Free (Blue Cactus Press), among other titles in progress. Tala's work has been widely published and supported, including by a Creative Capital Award. Tala was a First Reader for Split This Rock’s Poem of the Week Series and is proud to have three poems in The Quarry: A Social Justice Poetry Database.   ACCESSIBILITYAccessibility is a core value for Split This Rock. We strive to provide programs, materials, and communications that allow people within the disability community to engage fully. Zoom auto-captions will be provided. Written versions of poem prompts and poems used for discussion will be provided via screen share, the chat, or links. Split This Rock does not consent to the use of AI notetakers in our workshops. If this is an access barrier for you, please let us know. Let us know of any accessibility questions or accommodation requests via the workshop registration form or by emailing info@splitthisrock.org with "ACCESS REQUEST" in the subject line by Tuesday, October 6th. Given our ongoing funding challenges, we cannot promise accessibility services, but will do our best to provide accommodations. ABOUT SPLIT THIS ROCKSplit This Rock is the only national organization with a mission to integrate poetry and social justice. We materially support poets who are often excluded and underrepresented in the literary landscape, particularly those who are BIPOC, LGBTQ, disabled or chronically ill, and/or working class. With strong commitments to racial, gender, economic, and disability justice, we work to expand the horizons of inclusion and assert the transformative power of language to bear witness to injustice and provoke social change. We believe poetry acts as an agent for change by revealing the diversity and complexity of human experience, reflecting on daily lives and struggles, considering personal and social responsibility, and envisioning a better world. Learn more at Split This Rock's <a href="http://splitthisrock.org/" target="_blank">website</a>.

Split This Rock

Untrue Blue: An Introduction to Ekphrastic Writing with Tala Khanmalek

Discounted Ticket

$30

Workshop Attendance Ticket

$60

Fundraising Booster Ticket

$100

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