Languaging the Apocalypse, Unlanguaging the World: Queer and Indigenous Poetics of Destruction and Survival

Apocalypse is an asymmetrical structure. Whose worlds have already ended? Whose continue to end? Whose systems of life are predicated on the destruction of someone else’s? Which worlds need to end in order for those of us on the margins to continue to survive?

This in-person workshop will explore how Queer and Indigenous poets have theorized and written about the apocalypse. Palestinian artist and writer Fargo Nissim Tbakhi will offer ways to understand how the world has already ended, and how it's always in the process of ending. We will examine Queer/Indigenous poetics and craft our own experimental language to continue this work ourselves. During the workshop, we will read and discuss poems by Etel Adnan, Aimé Césaire, and Joy Harjo and use our discussions as prompts to create our own poems.

This program is a part of sowing worlds withing the incompossible organized by Giancarlo Montes Santangelo. The poem-objects that are created will become a part of the project's exhibition.

This workshop is indoors and masks are welcome. The entrance to WPA is wheelchair accessible.

About the Workshop Host

Fargo Nissim Tbakhi is a queer Palestinian performance artist, a Taurus, and a cool breeze. Find more at fargotbakhi.com.

About the Project

sowing worlds within the incompossible is an exercise in worldbuilding. The project emulates a queer community space consisting of an exhibition and a series of programs. The exhibition includes artwork by Amarise Carreras, Nelson Morales, and SHAN Wallace, who play with the tension between the everyday and the fantastical. Alongside their artwork, the installation functions as a place to come inside and read, look, gather, dream, learn, and heal. Organized by Giancarlo Montes Santangelo, the project is open through March 11.