Sundress Academy for the Arts Presents "Writing the Women We Were Warned About: Monstrous Feminine and Superstition in Poetry"

The Sundress Academy for the Arts is excited to present “Writing the Women We Were Warned About: Monstrous Feminine and Superstition in Poetry,” a workshop led by Ariadne Makridakis Arroyo on Wednesday, March 11th 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).

Superstitions shape the way we learn about danger, identity, and belonging, but they also tell us who we’re allowed to be. In this generative poetry workshop, we’ll explore the stories and sayings we grew up with: from playful warnings to cultural myths meant to guide or socially condition us. We’ll focus on Latin American monstrous women like La Siguanaba and La Ciguapa, specifically on their folklore and their defiance of gender expectations. What happens when you become the woman you’ve been warned about?

While there is no fee to participate in this workshop, those who are able and appreciative may make donations directly to via PayPal: ariadnemakridakis@gmail.com

Born and raised by Greek and Guatemalan immigrants, Ariadne Makridakis Arroyo is a Los Angeles-based writer, arts administrator, and feminista who grew up in New Orleans, Louisiana. Their work has been featured in Stellium Literary Magazine, Stonecoast Review, Latin@ Literatures, Tasteful Rude, and Acentos Review. In 2023, they were awarded a speculative fiction fellowship with Roots. Wounds. Words. and were named the 2025 LGBTQIA+ residency fellow with the Sundress Academy for the Arts. Currently, Ariadne’s work centers queer, feminist, and Latine perspectives in a way that explores the crossroads of radical joy, sexuality, brujería, and ancestral healing.

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