TENDER HAUNT—An exploration of the autumnal poetics of absence, longing, & memory

This self-paced experience includes all weekly digital materials + a community space on FB + a weekly musical playlist & other inspirational resources. Note: This self-paced workshop runs concurrently with the live experience—November 11, 18, and 25.

Prefer a live Zoom experience? Join us on three Wednesday evenings, November 11, 18, & 25 at 7 pm - 8:30 pm EST on Zoom. Click here.

What is Tender Haunt?

This three-week generative poetry writing workshop is back for the second year. It is a soft, lantern-lit space for writing through what haunts us. Together, we’ll explore the spectral palace of the self—and all of its many rooms. All levels welcome.

In this workshop, we will give shape, structure, and voice to the poetry of longing and endings. We will let autumnal language, imagery, and mood be our doorway. As Autumn is the mother of cyclical transformation and dying, how do we greet absences and endings?

Each week, we’ll closely read work by poets and writers who dwell in the space of memory—looking back, back, back to where grief and beauty intertwine. We will also write about the ache, the tenderness, & the excavation process itself.

Which memories live at the edge of your dreams? What versions of you still linger in childhood bedrooms or old houses? What is the voice of your yesterday-self? How do our bodies mirror the cycles of the natural world? What does the grief-void look like? What absence now haunts you? What is the language of your longing? Who is the unreachable beloved? What are we clinging to? What must be released?

This is a space of candlelight, gauzy veils, childhood bedrooms, photographs in boxes under the bed, dust motes, nostalgia, the saturated dusk light, damp & slow mornings, the hush just before sleep, streetlamps in the rain, & early autumnal melancholia.

🥀 You can expect:

• Close readings of poems and other prose excerpts

• Written materials with guided meditations to deepen you into the experience

• Journaling & creative practices

• Weekly prompts for you to take with you

• A weekly musical playlist

• An online community space for conversation, connection, & feedback. Regarding our group space on FB, you can expect me to check in regularly, facilitate conversation about poems + practices, and drop in some extra prompts from time to time. I will hold a supportive, engaged space for our writing together—but I will not be available for in-depth or constant feedback.

🥀 What you need
Come with your longing, your nostalgia, & your email to receive the weekly materials. Note that we also use Facebook groups for the community aspect. It isn’t perfect, but it’s an easy choice for now.

🥀 Testimonials

“I've just finished Lisa's Summer workshop, Fever Fruit, and it fed my poetry soul so abundantly. Lisa is an excellent facilitator and teacher who somehow managed to get a whole bunch of poetry nutrients into each 90-minute Zoom. I was always left feeling excited about many things, with enough exploratory writing to take away to last me some time. I signed up for her Autumn workshop the minute I got the email about it.” — Z. Carter, workshop participant

“[Lisa Marie Basile] was amazing. She brought a different perspective to writing. Would love to do more classes with her. She created a safe and calm environment and enabled beautiful discussions.” — Jersey City Creative Arts Center Workshop Participant

“I just finished a four-class workshop with Lisa and can recommend working with her very highly! If you’re looking for a poetry jumpstart or some seasonal magic, definitely sign up!”— S. Caplan, workshop participant

“I'm currently taking a class with Lisa Marie Basile called "Fever Fruit," a generative poetry writing workshop where we draft poems about summer. Lisa is an excellent workshop host and poet.” — N. Hassall, workshop participant

“Lisa’s writing prompts were clearly crafted doorways into the themes, excursions, and the unconscious. The word ineffable was mentioned multiple times by our group during our week in Palermo. On reflection, that word best describes the experience. I could not recommend it more.” — N. Downey, Radici Siciliane Sicily writing retreat participant

🥀 About me
Lisa Marie Basile is an author, poet, and journalist based in Jersey City, NJ and NYC. She holds an MFA in writing from The New School. She is the founding editor of Luna Luna Magazine.

She is the author of a few books of poetry, including SAINT OF (White Stag Publishing, 2025), Nympholespy (Inside the Castle, 2019, finalist in the 2017 Tarpaulin Sky Book Awards), Apocryphal (Noctuary Press, 2014), and Andalucia (The Poetry Society of New York, 2012). She’s also written non-fiction, including Light Magic for Dark Times.

Lisa Marie is a recipient of the 2026 Individual Artist Fellowship by the Jersey City Arts & Culture Council. 

Her essays, interviews, poetry, and other works can be found in The New York Times, Catapult, Narratively, Tinderbox Poetry, Lover’s Eye Press, Sporklet (edited by Richard Siken), Best Small Fictions (selected by Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Robert Olen Butler), and Best American Experimental Writing 2020 (selected by Carmen Maria Machado and Joyelle McSweeney).

Lisa Marie has also led workshops or spoken at LaGuardia Community College, The Jersey City Public Library System, Manhattanville College, Emerson College, Pace University, The Moon Studio, The Author’s Guild, Stanza Books, Astrolushes, Radici Siciliane, Brooklyn Brainery, The Poetry Society of New York, and more.

CREATIVE CREDITS: Pinterest + Huang O, Virginia Woolf, & Ellen Bass

Cancellation & Refund Policy

I understand that plans can change! This writing workshop is created for a particular group, with weekly materials, community connection, plus my ongoing presence within the group space. So, I ask for a little advance notice if you need to cancel.

10 or more days before the start date
You may receive a 100% refund, or you may choose to apply your full course fee toward a future workshop or writing journey.

Within 10 days of the start date or after the start date
I am unable to offer a refund. However, you are always welcome to apply your full course fee toward a future workshop or writing journey of your choice.

After the writing journey begins
Once the journey begins, fees are non-refundable and non-transferable.

If I need to cancel
If I cancel, you will receive a 100% refund or may transfer your registration to a rescheduled session.