This summer, join us for Poetry in Pairs! A new, heartfelt poetry-writing lab designed for poets and writers to reflect, reconnect, and create together. Over the course of three themed sessions, participants will be guided through gentle prompts that inspire a journey of writing for and with each other. 

1. An ode to Love | July 18

2. An ode to family and Kinship | August 8

3. An ode to Companionship | September 19

This series is an invitation to slow down, express what matters, and capture your bond through the art of the ode — one of poetry’s oldest and most expressive forms.

Each workshop is a two-hour, in-person session, grounded in writing but rich with conversation, context, and quiet moments. Each participant should bring along a creative partner of their choice: a friend, a parent, a sibling, or anyone else they love. We’ll start with a brief, engaging introduction to the history of the ode and how it has taken shape across different poetic traditions worldwide. From ancient love poems to contemporary letters of gratitude and remembrance, we'll explore how writers have long used poetry to honour their closest relationships. 

Guided by prompts, you and your partner will co-create (or individually write) a personal ode. This time is open and flexible, whether you’d prefer a quiet space to write or occasional check-ins and questions, the pace will adjust to meet the group.

Participants will walk away with a piece of writing, a shared creative memory, and perhaps a fresh perspective on someone they know well, or are still learning how to know.

This series is open to duos ages 12 and above. No prior writing experience is necessary, just a willingness to be present and playful with words. 

This program was concieved by Fatima AlJarman, this season's Pencil-In instructor, and led by Ioanna Orphanide. 

This workshop is 60 AED per participant.

Book now!

About the instructor:

Joanna Orphinade is an NYU Abu Dhabi graduate with an MA in Literature and Creative Writing: The inevitable path she has chosen for herself as she tries to morph her aesthetic framework between the Eastern Mediterranean and Arabian Gulf. Her writing, sometimes lyrical, sometimes prosaic and most times experimental, is interested in how scale informs our experience with nature and with each other. Her left-handedness, tinnitus, and linguistic dysphoria, are paid actors often featured in her poetry. She is, perhaps unsurprisingly, Gen Z.