Class Course The Artist

Rainbow Poetry: Creating the Queer Persona

By John Iremil Teodoro
1 Session
July 11, 2026
1PM to 3PM
2F Comuna bldg, 238 Pablo Ocampo Sr. Ext, Makati City, 1203, Metro Manila

In this Pride Month workshop, acclaimed poet John Iremil Teodoro explores the persona as a space for self-expression, imagination, and discovery. Drawing from queer literary traditions and contemporary poetry, participants will examine how poets construct voices that reveal, conceal, transform, or challenge the self.

Open to writers of all identities and experience levels, this session combines close reading, discussion, and guided writing exercises to help participants create a more intentional and compelling queer persona in their poetry.

This class may be taken for PHP 1500.

John Iremil Teodoro

John Iremil Teodoro is a full professor at the Department of Literature of De La Salle University in Manila where he is also the director of the Bienvenido N. Santos Creative Writing Center. He is from San Jose de Buenavista, Antique, Philippines, and writes poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and drama in Kinaray-a, Filipino, Hiligaynon, and English. An author of more than twenty books, his two collections of creative nonfiction in Filipino won the Philippine National Book Award from the Filipino Critics Circle and the National Book Development Board. His poems are published in Tomas, Plume Poetry, Qarrtsiluni, Poetry London, and Poets.org of the Academy of American Poets. He received the S.E.A. Write Award from the Kingdom of Thailand in 2019.
John Iremil Teodoro

By the end of this session, you will...

Understand the role of persona in poetry

Explore how identity can inform poetic voice

Analyze examples from queer poetic traditions

Draft new poems using persona as a creative tool

This class is for…

  • Poets and aspiring poets honing their persona
  • Writers interested in voice and perspective
  • Readers curious about queer poetry and literary traditions
  • Anyone looking to deepen their creative self-expression

Rainbow Poetry: Creating the Queer Persona

In this Pride Month workshop, acclaimed poet John Iremil Teodoro explores the persona as a space for self-expression, imagination, and discovery. Drawing from queer literary traditions and contemporary poetry, participants will examine how poets construct voices that reveal, conceal, transform, or challenge the self.

Open to writers of all identities and experience levels, this session combines close reading, discussion, and guided writing exercises to help participants create a more intentional and compelling queer persona in their poetry.

This class may be taken for PHP 1500.

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