The Watering Hole: an online community dedicated to poets of color
October 13, 2014
COLUMBIA, SC – Writing can be isolating. Creative writers go months without having a conversation with another writer. We are hermit creatives. Being a poet of color compounds this artistic scarcity. However, there are ways to alleviate this. The Watering Hole is budding grassroots poetry organization that has gained about 200 members in 1 year. They specialize in using the internet to connect poets of color, whether emerging or established.
This is not your grandmother’s book club. The Watering Hole uses their Facebook group as a free online forum for poets to meet, form community, and engage with one another. They host online master classes, so that poets who want to learn in a class format can do so without finding babysitters, buying airfare, or planning a hotel stay. Plus, for those who enjoy face-to-face interaction, The Watering Hole 
will be hosting their 2nd annual winter retreat, from Dec. 26 to Dec. 30, at Santee State Park in South Carolina. Last December, more than 33 minority poets from across the nation gathered in these cabins, overlooking Lake Marion. Written and spoken word artists, as well as lyricists sat at the same table to delve into poetic craft with our facilitators Tyehimba Jess, Remica L. Bingham-Risher, and Lita Hooper. At the retreat, there are no traditional classrooms. Classes are held in living rooms to recreate the atmosphere of the down-home sit-downs that Black Arts writer Toni Cade Bambara hosted in her own living room.
The Watering Hole is fighting to establish a home for poetry of color in the South, a region which is home to most of us whether by birth, heritage, or influence. More than that, one of their major goals is to keep services affordable and accessible for any income level. Thousand dollar price tags too often exclude very talented poets from these opportunities. Instead, this year poets will sit 5 days and 4 nights with NAACP Image Award winner and Kentucky Poet Laureate Frank X. Walker, two-time National Slam Champion Roger Bonair-Agard, and Poetry Editor of African Voices literary magazine Mariahadessa Ekere Tallie for only $198.
Though they are new, this organization is already working towards federal non-profit status. By October 31st, The Watering Hole must raise $5,000 to apply for non-profit status and to offset the cost for participants at the upcoming retreat. The community support from this IndieGogo campaign is what enables The Watering Hole to provide affordable, accessible poetry opportunities for poets at all income levels and alleviate some of the artistic isolation that writers experience.
To learn more about The Watering Hole and how to apply for the retreat, visit twhpoetry.wordpress.com. To donate, check out their IndieGogo page “TWH Hosts Poetry Retreat and Goes Non-Profit.” Reach them by e-mail at [email protected].
