MERCH
Register for Awesome Programing and Find Cool Stuff Here!
*60% of proceeds will go toward PACT facilitators + artists.
*40% of proceeds will go toward PACT for future programing and contributor compensation.
CRAFT WORKSHOP
PACT PRESENTS: Poets Engaging with Other Arts
Ekphrastic Poetry with Melissa McKinstry
an online craft talk
*
“Move back, Miss, behind the line, you’re too close to the painting.” –– Ama Codjoe
Ekphrasis was originally an exercise in vivid description. We’ll read from a rich array of contemporary poets who cross “the line” to see what––and how––they discover beyond description.
Mark Doty wrote, “We think that to find ourselves we need turn inward…But ‘I’ is just as much to be found in the world…Say what you see and you experience yourself through your style of seeing and saying.”
I’ll share a variety of specific approaches to converse with the art and write into something you don’t already know.
DATE: Sunday, May 31st
TIME: 1:00–2:15 PM PDT
REGISTRATION
$40 (standard) / $30 / $20 sliding scale
We will hold 2 seats for participants with financial need on a first come, first served basis. Please email PACTDesk@gmail.com.
To keep this offering accessible, sponsored spots are limited to once per year per participant.
Please send payment via Venmo:
@PACTDeskSet
(include your full name + email in the notes)
*
About your Facilitator:
Melissa McKinstry hosts poetry and jazz events and curates a Poet Tree in San Diego. Her poetry
appears in many journals including Beloit, Adroit, and Best New Poets, and was selected for the 2025
New Ohio Review Literary Prize and a 2026 Pushcart Prize. The inaugural writer-in-residence at the
Millay House Rockland, she currently serves on their Board and on the Alumni Council for Pacific University’s MFA program.
Upcoming Craft Talks + Workshops
Facilitator: Kate Wylie
Title: Old Tom Bombadil
Description: The most lasting resistance to fascism will arrive not in the rage of blood-red fire, but in the dusk-blue ink of song. As artists, our solemn and oftentimes unspoken hope is that our work will somehow outlive us, a feat which continues to prove difficult due to the cultural desire for rapid technological evolution. But our ability to employ levity gives writers an advantage in an otherwise sullen world; we should find ways to encourage more frivolity in our own writing. In this generative workshop, we will read short selections from writers of varying genres and have an open-floor discussion about what makes their writing truly memorable.
Registration details coming soon!
STICKERS!!
Available for Purchase NOW!
Prices have just dropped from
$6——> $5Or get all three for $12
To purchase, Venmo Sticker Description (White Circle, Red Head, Square-ish) along with your address + payment to: @PactDeskSet
