Gathered in this zine is the writing and artwork created by participants of DSTL Arts’ Conchas y Café creative writing workshop series for adults. Through poetry and short fiction, drawings and photo composition, these workshops empower participants as the artists they are, helping them develop new skills in storytelling.

The theme for this Conchas y Café Zine; Volume 3, Issue 2, is Ekphrasis. This ancient Greek approach to art-making encourages us to explore works of art, leading to the creation of new works, in this case, poetry. From the ancient Greek “ek” and “phrásis,” meaning “out” and “speak” respectively, this rhetorical strategy emphasizes the use of vivid detail in describing not just art, but also the objects, people and experiences we live in our day-to-day. Presented here are some of those experiences our artists lived.