The Intersection of Religion and Mental Health in Poetry

The Sundress Academy for the Arts is excited to present “The Intersection of Religion and Mental Health in Poetry,” a workshop led by Maya Williams on Wednesday, November 12th from 6:00-7:30 PM EST. This event will be held over Zoom. Participants can access the event at tiny.utk.edu/sundress (password: safta).

Regardless of the religious, nonreligious, irreligious, or spiritual worldview we
identify with, the culture of religion continues to be an influence on people’s mental health. We will look at poetry by Adrienne Novy, Eugenia Leigh, and Maya Williams to learn how suicidality, spiritual bypassing, and religious related trauma in poetics can impact us. We will also make time to write in response to prompts inspired by the poems.

Maya Williams (ey/they/she) is a religious Black multiracial nonbinary suicide survivor who was selected as Portland, ME's seventh poet laureate for a July 2021 to July 2024 term. Eir debut poetry collection Judas & Suicide (Game Over Books, 2023) was selected as a finalist for a New England Book Award. Their second poetry collection, Refused a Second Date (Harbor Editions, 2023), was selected as a finalist for a Maine Literary Award. Their third poetry collection, What's So Wrong with a Pity Party Anyway?, was selected as one of four winners of Garden Party Collective's chapbook prize in 2024.

This event is brought to you by a grant provided by the Tennessee Arts Commission.

You may also like the following events from Sundress Academy for the Arts:

• Next Sunday, 31st August, 06:00 pm, August Poetry Xfit in Powell, Tennessee
• Next month, 10th September, 10:00 pm, Making the Personal Political: Writing Protest Poetry in Powell, Tennessee
• This October, 8th October, 10:00 pm, Look / Mira: Latinx/e Ways of Looking in Poetry & Prose in Powell, Tennessee

Also check out other Arts events in Chatham, Literary Art events in Chatham, Health & Wellness events in Chatham.