The Surreal and the Strange through Prompts: A Generative Workshop

Jose Hernandez Diaz is a 2017 NEA Poetry Fellow. He is the author of a collection of prose poems: The Fire Eater (Texas Review Press, 2020). He holds degrees in English and Creative Writing from UC Berkeley and Antioch University Los Angeles. His work appears in The American Poetry Review, Cincinnati Review, Georgia Review, Huizache, Iowa Review, The Nation, Poetry, and in The Best American Nonrequired Reading. Currently, he is an Editor for Frontier and Palette Poetry.

Jose’s workshop was practical, hands-on, and very generative: his imaginative writing prompts helped me draft over a dozen prose poems that I’m proud of. Jose also has a kind and encouraging presence and he created a wonderful learning environment. I highly recommend this class! - Student

The workshop atmosphere is very positive and open (just like Jose!), and everyone is encouraged to share (or not) according to their own comfort level. But perhaps more importantly, this was the most generative class I've taken to date; each session I left with at least four solid beginnings to new poems, and often as many as six or seven. The structure of each class session is such that writing happens quickly, spontaneously, and with free experimentation in rhythm, imagery and theme. My first published piece of poetry was written in class with Jose from one of his prompts, and three others I started throughout the course have been accepted for publication. I find myself returning to my course notes and prompts when I need inspiration or direction, weeks after completing the class. If every Litro Master Class is half as rewarding and educational as this one, then they're all worth much more than they cost. If you have a chance to workshop with Jose Hernandez Diaz, take it. (And maybe take it again... I'm thinking about it!) - Adrienne Crezo, student