Brick Box Paradox: Exploring the Possibilities of Prose Poetry is an immersive five-week exploration of the prose poem as both a literary form and a creative possibility.
Together, we’ll move through the history, craft, contemporary innovations, and future directions of the form, asking not only what a prose poem is, but how it’s made, what shapes it can take, and what becomes possible when we begin experimenting with it ourselves.
Because there’s so much ground to cover, Brick Box Paradox opens only once a year. Through live lectures, close reading, discussion, and generative writing, you’ll encounter new ways of reading prose poetry and new possibilities for your own work.
Everyone is welcome here: new poets, seasoned poets, fiction writers, creative nonfiction writers, and anyone curious about what happens when poetry begins to misbehave on the page.
There are four goals of Brick Box Paradox:
Better understand the prose poem and its possibilities.
Build a library of kick-ass poems.
Develop ideas for how you can innovate within the form.
Grant yourself permission to write.
"Brick Box Paradox was a wonderful class! I was brand new to the form, and it was great to be welcomed into a space where we were given plenty of definitions to help us understand where to begin, but also lots of permission to be creative and think outside the box! The class is a wonderful mix of lecture, reading material, and poetry prompts.”
- Ashley P.
What We’ll Explore
What is a prose poem?
How do you make a prose poem?
What forms can prose poems take?
Who is innovating the form today?
Where do you fit into all of this?
“This class has been a such a gift. I love the setup starting from the history of the form to ending with the future and what is possible (all the things). There are so many resources provided and because of access I get to go back and take time with everything The Poetry Lab shared. It's very helpful to go back at my own pace and digest what we've chewed on during the in-class experience which is so amazing. I would definitely do this class again and again and again.”
- La-Gaye S.
Mark Your Calendar
Brick Box Paradox meets live on Sundays at 11:00AM PT starting October 11, 2026. Class dates are:
October 11
October 18
October 25
November 1
November 8
We’ll also gather for a Friday Night Write-In on November 6 at 6:00PM PT, a dedicated hour to show up, settle in, and write together.
All sessions are recorded, and recordings, readings, prompts, and other course materials will be added to our Google Classroom so you can return to them throughout the course.
For BBP Plus: Your enrollment also includes two BrainTrust generative writing workshops, held Tuesday, October 13 at 5:30 PM PT and Tuesday, November 10 at 5:30 PM PT.
Classroom Culture
The Poetry Lab classroom is built around curiosity, experimentation, and respect for the many different ways writers work. You’re welcome to participate at your own pace, keep your camera on or off, ask questions, change your mind, and try things that might not work. We’re here to take the writing seriously without making ourselves feel stifled.
What You’ll Receive
Brick Box Paradox has been developed and refined over years of teaching, reading, research, and conversation about the prose poem. Your enrollment includes a growing library of materials designed not just for our five weeks together, but for you to return to long after the course ends.
Curated Prose Poetry Packets
Each week, you’ll receive a carefully curated selection of prose poems chosen to accompany our conversations and introduce you to the range, history, and possibilities of the form. BBP Plus participants receive expanded reading packets for writers who want to go deeper.
Original Craft Guides
New this year, you’ll receive a collection of original BBP handouts that turn some of our most important mini-lessons into resources you can keep at your desk: The Prose Poem Cheat Sheet, Objective Correlative, Parataxis, and The Squeeze, Danielle’s original framework for thinking about compression, density, and tension in the prose poem.
Lectures You’ll Want to Revisit
Each class is accompanied by a thoughtfully designed visual lecture and recorded for later viewing, so you don’t have to choose between taking frantic notes and actually participating in the conversation.
Prompts, Reading Guides & More
You’ll also receive generative in-class and at-home writing prompts, recommended reading lists, reading guides, and additional resources to help you continue exploring between sessions.
Your Course Library
Everything lives together in our private Google Classroom, where you can easily find recordings, readings, handouts, prompts, and course materials throughout Brick Box Paradox.
Start Studying Prose Poetry Now
You can start now by downloading this free guide to get you started in your studies. No course sign-up necessary. Check it out and see where your curiosity takes you.
How to Start Studying Prose Poetry walks you through four books I recommend for anyone interested in reading, studying, and writing prose poetry. Think of it as a place to begin building your own prose poetry bookshelf and getting better acquainted with the form.
“A prose poem is a fable about an irrational universe.”
Choose Your Brick Box Paradox Experience
Everyone begins with the complete five-week course. Choose the experience that best matches how deeply you want to engage with your writing while we’re together.
BRICK BOX PARADOX
Explore the Possibilities
5 weeks • 6 group sessions • 11 hours
$185
Immerse yourself in the world of prose poetry through literary history, close reading, discussion, and generative writing. Together, we’ll explore the many ways prose poems have been written, challenged, expanded, and reinvented, asking not only what prose poems are, but what they can do.
Your enrollment includes:
5 live weekly class sessions
1 Friday Night Write-In
Curated weekly prose poetry packets
Original BBP craft guides and handouts
In-class and at-home writing prompts
Reading lists and guides
Access to our private Google Classroom
Recordings of every class
Community discussion throughout the course
Ideal for: Writers who want a rigorous, inspiring exploration of prose poetry and new possibilities for their own creative practice.
5 Week Course
via Zoom
October 11 - November 8, 2026
Live Lectures and Q&A delivered on Sundays, 11:00am - 1:00pm PT
Instructed by Danielle Mitchell
BRICK BOX PARADOX PLUS
Put Possibility into Practice
5 weeks • 8 group sessions • 2 private Editorial Sessions • 16 hours
$364
Inspiration is only the beginning. BBP Plus includes the complete Brick Box Paradox experience with additional opportunities to generate new work, deepen your engagement with the form, and receive individualized support throughout the five weeks.
⬅ Everything in Brick Box Paradox, plus:
2 BrainTrust generative writing workshops
2 private 30-minute Editorial Sessions with Danielle Mitchell
Expanded weekly prose poetry packets
Additional opportunities for discussion and Q&A
More structured writing time, accountability, and support throughout the course
Ideal for: Writers who want support turning inspiration into practice through additional generative writing, deeper engagement, and personalized editorial feedback.
Payment plans available.
5 Week Course
via Zoom
October 11 - November 8, 2026
Live Lectures and Q&A delivered on Sundays, 11:00am - 1:00pm PT
Private 1:1 Sessions are scheduled once class begins, 30 minutes each
Instructed by Danielle Mitchell
BIPOC Scholarships
The Poetry Lab offers two full scholarships to Brick Box Paradox for writers who identify as Black, Indigenous, or people of color. Scholarships cover the full cost of the Core course, with no payment required.
If cost is a barrier and you’d like to join us, we encourage you to apply.
“The prose poem is a very special invention, like a chair that flies or a small dish that produces food for forty a people. ”
Here are reviews for Brick Box Paradox. I love this class and I love the students who’ve taken it so much:
Danielle Mitchell (she/her) is an intersectional feminist, poet, and teaching artist.
She is Founder and Executive Director of The Poetry Lab and author of the prose poem chapbook Makes the Daughter-in-Law Cry, winner of the Clockwise Prize (Tebot Bach, 2017).
Danielle’s poems have appeared in Hayden’s Ferry Review, Vinyl, Four Way Review, Transom, New Orleans Review, Nailed Magazine and others. She has been distinguished as a California Creative Corps artist and currently serves as the Managing Editor of ART SICK.
You can find her on social media as @imaginarydani and learn even more about her at imaginarydani.com
ASSEMBLING THE BROTHER
My older brother is a conveyor, revolving back to the thing that most deserts him, the woman. He is miniature fighter jets & star ships. A tiny republic. You should think of him as an everglade. Swampy edges & constant reinforcement. You should think of his bones split open learning to re-harden & see the pattern of a picket fence—it surprised all of us when he got a house, learned to garden, & made pickles. The best pickles. My brother is a surprise. There is a metal plate & nine screws in his leg from a dirt bike accident. His wrist cannot twist, his shoulder once fledged out like a wing. My brother is subtraction & a ledge. He is a carpenter, has the most miraculous hobbies. He built a dining room table & a telescope. He installs the ducts of essential air lines for NASA. He does not list his talents among these things. He is single again. His love is impossible, his dust lines everything. When I ask why he has spent his life on an awful woman, he says only that he is an awful man. You should think of him in brilliant pieces with six different color sides. He is a puzzle. My brother is the lever they pull to make all the hardships end. & begin again.
by Danielle Mitchell
Previously published in Connotation Press
