As Sam Moore wrote, ‘all my teachers died of AIDS.’ 

Devotion presents Queer Ancestry, our signature workshop of queer ancestral writing techniques for everyday. Across ten weeks, we will learn from our queer ancestors (or as Dana Ward said, the many gendered mothers of my heart) who died too soon, and those we are lucky to still share a world with. Workshop material includes works by David Wojnarowicz, Gertrude Stein, Audre Lorde, Judy Grahn, Samuel Delaney, Sappho, Emily Dickinson, Gloria Anzaldúa, Cookie Mueller, Nan Goldin, Eileen Myles, Adrienne Rich, Barbara Hammer, Tove Jansson & many more.

Ancestral wisdom carries sacred tools for creating and sustaining a writing practice that nourishes, challenges, shifts paradigms – and which fights against the poverty of expression increasingly offered to by culture at large.

Workshops include readings, accessible explanations, prompts and techniques, structured group writing time, and opportunities for optional discussion and sharing. We will also be joined by special guests across the semester who will share their own work and queer lineage. This is an inclusive space for anyone who wants to learn more about queer ancestry, and to be prompted and challenged. Topics explored will include:

• Tracing queer lineage

• Queer ancestral tactics, techniques, tools for writing

• The history of queer literature and culture

• Honing a writing practice

• Resistance and refusal

• Courage and transformation

• Mentorship and finding our chosen family

Workshops will take place on Zoom, Thursdays 6pm to 8pm GMT, on the following dates:

19 June 2025

26 June 2025

3 July 2025

10 July 2025

17 July 2025

24 July 2025

31 July 2025

7 Aug 2025

14 Aug 2025

21 Aug 2025

Live workshops are recorded and available for attendees – if you're unable to make every workshop you are welcome to watch back in your own time (recordings remain available for six months). The materials discussed in the workshops are collated for easy access on Padlet. There is no preparation required for any Devotion workshop. No homework, no obligation to share written work, and no prior experience necessary.

Devotion workshop testimonials

‘Despite years of formal education, I never had as meaningful an opportunity to develop my craft. Devotion fosters and nurtures a thoughtful, inclusive space for people to grow in their writing and their practice.’

‘I have attended every Devotion workshop so far & every time has been incredible. The mix of poetry, music, film & art as inspiration makes it so stimulating & like a little party for the heart - because that's what Devotion seems to access, subtle connections to feeling.

‘Devotion has become a must in my life now & I would probably cancel most other things to be there because it does something that nothing else has ever done for me in my writing & has changed me in other more spiritual senses too. The space is nurturing & allows for everybody to be who they need to be on any given day.’

About Devotion

Devotion is a practice-based creative writing workshop for everyone. It nurtures writing practices through communal writing sessions that foster accountability, solidarity and collective learning. Devotion is a writing workshop for everyone. All experience levels, forms and genres welcome 🌹

Find us on Instagram. Devotion website.