Poemwalking WordHaven to the Lake w/ Katrina Serwe

Date: 8/26

Session length: 90 minutes, 1-2:30 PM
Workshop leader: Katrina Serwe
Route: WordHaven BookHouse to Worker’s Water Street Park via Ontario Avenue
Distance: 1-mile round trip

Cost: $10 (we have scholarships, too)

Drink in some summertime fresh air and discover how walking can open the door to creativity. In this interactive writing workshop, poet Katrina Serwe will share the practice of poemwalking—being present and moving through a place with the mindset of a poet. Participants will slow down, pay attention, and gather vivid sensory details from the world around them.

The group will start at WordHaven and walk to Worker’s Water Street Park via Ontario Avenue, using sights, sounds, textures, scents, and passing thoughts as material for writing. After the walk, participants will draw from their observations to begin a prose poem, flash fiction piece, or other creative work.

No prior writing experience is needed. Please wear comfortable shoes and sun protection. Be ready to embrace process over product. In the case of inclement weather, the workshop will be modified to take place within the bookstore.

Katrina Serwe, PhD, worked as a therapist, professor, and researcher in the field of occupational therapy for over two decades. She started poemwalking (a made-up hobby that is exactly what it sounds like) after a delightful midlife crisis and wrote two related books of poetry. First Steps (Brain Mill Press, 2025) won the Brain Mill Press + Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets Chapbook Contest. A Thousand Miles of Poetry: Poemwalking Wisconsin’s Ice Age National Scenic Trail will be released April 2026 with WWA Press. You can follow her journey at www.katrinaserwe.com.