Superstitions shape the way we learn about danger, identity, and belonging, but they also tell us who we’re allowed to be. In this generative poetry workshop, we’ll explore the stories and sayings we grew up with: from playful warnings to cultural myths meant to guide or socially condition us. We’ll focus on Latin American monstrous women like La Siguanaba and La Ciguapa, specifically on their folklore and their defiance of gender expectations. What happens when you become the woman you’ve been warned about?

Through close readings and discussion of poems by Elizabeth Acevedo, Ashley August, and Leticia Hernández Linares, we’ll examine how poets reclaim superstition and myth as sources of power, creativity, and cultural memory.

Participants will be guided through writing prompts that reimagine or retell a superstition, myth, or warning from their own background. All levels, identities, and cultural traditions are welcome!

Led by writer Ariadne Makridakis Arroyo!

About the facilitator: Ariadne Makridakis Arroyo (she/they) is a Los Angeles-based poet, writer, and feminista of Greek and Guatemalan descent. Their work has been featured in Stellium Literary Magazine, Stonecoast Review, Latin@ Literatures, and Tasteful Rude, and she was awarded the 2025 LGBTQIA+ residency fellowship with The Sundress Academy for the Arts.