Speak Up: Creative Writing + Performance (Spring 2026)

Saturdays, January 31-March 14, 2026
3 p.m.-4 p.m. EST

Join us online for Speak Up, a teen creative writing program supporting the artistic and professional growth of teens.

In this FREE virtual creative writing workshop mini-series, teens will partner with experienced teaching artists to empower the creative writing process, from drafting to performance to publishing, to boost literacy and empower youth in Miami through community-based writing activities.

The program is open to all teens (ages 13-19) and is as free of charge as it is free of homework. No previous experience necessary!

February 14: Joyful Odes: In Praise of Our Hearts
Instructor: Mariama J. Lockington

In this workshop, participants will explore the objects and subjects that bring them joy by penning odes aka praise poems. Do you have a beloved pet deserving of the spotlight? An elder who has helped you see the world differently? Do you have a best friend who just gets you and makes you laugh? Is there a breakfast food that you could eat everyday until the end of time? Come celebrate the everyday things and people that help us survive uncertain times, and get ready to laugh, learn, listen, & write!

Mariama J. Lockington is an adoptee, educator, and award-winning author. She has been telling stories and making her own books since the second grade, when she wore shortalls and flower leggings every day to school. Mariama’s middle-grade debut, For Black Girls Like Me, earned five starred reviews and was a Today Show Best Kids’ Book of 2019. Her sophomore middle-grade book, In The Key of Us, is a Stonewall Honor Award book and was featured in the New York Times. Her debut young adult novel, Forever is Now, is the 2024 winner of the Schneider Family Book Award. Her second young adult novel, I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm, published in October 2025 and is a USA Today bestseller. Mariama holds a Masters in Education from Lesley University and a Masters in Fine Arts in Poetry from San Francisco State University, she calls many places home, but currently lives in Kentucky with her wife, her sausage dogs, Walter and Sammy, and an abundance of plants. You can find her on Bluesky @‌marilock and on Instagram/TikTok @‌forblackgirlslikeme.