In the Beginning: How to Write Your Origin Story with Isabella DeSendi

​In this class, students will examine the ways and why's we come to poetry in order to explore how poets go about writing their origin stories, otherwise known as self-mythologies.

Not only will we look at poets who have used the fodder of their early lives as grounds to excavate, we will also explore our own memories, life turns, and identity-defining moments in an effort to locate our creative motivations, impulses, and curiosities.

From there, we will take a technical look at what makes an origin poem or self-mythology successful. How do we tell our stories in such a way that we can connect with readers despite the inclusion of idiosyncratic details? How do we create a lens to be seen clearly? Is there purpose in exposing the ways the world has shaped us into who we are, who we choose, who we love, who we turn from?

The goal of this workshop is to leave class feeling equipped to write a poem that traces the genesis of our lives so that we might have more insight on who we are, who we've been, and where we're going.

​FAQs:

• ​​​I'm unable to join live. Will the event be recorded?
  Yes! The event will be recorded and shared with ticket-holders via email the following day.

• ​​​How can I participate during the event?
  You will be joining a Zoom Meeting for this event. We encourage you to have your camera on, but remain muted until prompted. We also recommend that you come prepared with writing materials!

• ​I live outside the U.S. Can I still join?
  Yes! We have many international members in Sustenance. We'd love to see you there no matter where you're tuning in from.
  

​BIO:

Isabella DeSendi is a Latina poet and educator whose work has been published in POETRY, The Adroit Journal, Poetry Northwest, and others. Her debut poetry collection titled Someone Else's Hunger was published by Four Way Books on September 15, 2025 and received the gold medal from the 2025 North American Book Awards. Her chapbook Through the New Body won the Poetry Society of America's Chapbook Fellowship and was published in 2020. 

Recently, she has been named a 2025 New Jersey Poetry Fellow, a finalist for the Ruth Lilly Fellowship, and was included in the 2024 Best New Poets anthology, among other awards. Isabella has attended Bread Loaf Writers' Workshop, the Storyknife Writers’ Residency in Alaska, and holds an MFA from Columbia University. She currently lives in Hoboken, New Jersey.