Behind-the-Scenes of Red Hen: A Conversation with Ariadne Makridakis Arroyo
By: Lizzy Young
This New Year, we are continuing our Behind-the-Scenes series with Ariadne Makridakis Arroyo, our Writing in the Schools Coordinator!
Ariadne Makridakis Arroyo is a poet of Greek and Guatemalan descent who graduated from Occidental College magna cum laude with a BA in Critical Theory & Social Justice. Her work has been featured in Twisted Moon Magazine, Evocations Review, Feast Magazine, Stellium Literary Magazine, and Stonecoast Review, and she is a recipient of the 2019 Argonaut Summer Research/Creative Writing Fellowship. Although born in Los Angeles, she grew up in New Orleans, Louisiana, and she is a plant and astrology enthusiast.
Ariadne began in literary programming and community engagement through her time with Oxy Arts, Occidental College’s community-based arts hub, and Avenue 50 Studio, an art gallery in Highland Park, where she organized open mics that explored the intersection between social justice and poetry. At Red Hen, she oversees the Writing in the Schools (WITS) program, connecting published authors that provide poetry workshops to underserved classrooms in the greater Los Angeles area, while also supporting the Development team.
Lizzy Young: What are your primary responsibilities at Red Hen?
Ariadne Makridakis Arroyo: My primary responsibilities at Red Hen include managing the Writing in the Schools (WITS) program, which pairs published authors with Los Angeles classrooms to teach poetry, grants management, and general support for fundraising initiatives.
LY: What is the most rewarding part of your job?
AMA: The most rewarding aspect of my job is visiting the classrooms and witnessing the effects of the WITS program. It’s always so nice to see the students and how at the beginning of the program, they are shy and keep to themselves, but by the end, they are very outspoken and excited to share the poetry they’ve written. I also like the relationship-building aspect of the WITS program where I get to work with a lot of teachers, school administration, and even students and parents.
LY: How do you connect poets with underserved classrooms in the LA area?
AMA: Typically, I start in the summer by reaching out to previous instructors for the WITS program to see if they’d like to return to teach in the program. Then, I utilize the Red Hen network and touch base with other staff members to see if they think any of our authors (or beyond) would be a good fit for WITS. I also get connected to other authors through the current instructors and the networking that can come from that. The good thing about WITS is that it’s fairly reputable (I believe it’s a national phenomenon), so there’s generally never a shortage of interest in WITS.
LY: How did the Writing in the Schools program at Red Hen get started, and how did you get connected to it?
AMA: The WITS program got started in 2003 due to our Executive Director’s experience with parenting and how she noticed a severe lack of arts education in schools. I got started with it because I’ve generally kept up with Red Hen as the largest indie publisher in California and due to my studies at Occidental College where Red Hen internships were often advertised. When I saw they were hiring in this department after I graduated, I didn’t hesitate to apply.
LY: What is your role in supporting the Development team?
AMA: I mainly support the Development department by writing grants, coming up with strategic goals and solutions for the WITS program, and assisting in any donor-related events or fundraisers. I also help out our Executive Director with scheduling any Board meetings and preparing the materials for those as well.
LY: What are you working on currently? Would you like to share a poem here?
AMA: It’s funny, but my writing praxis has definitely changed since the pandemic. While I used to solely consider myself a poet, I’ve been writing more nonfiction and personal essays out of a need to document this current historical moment we are all experiencing compounded with the uncertain political climate. You can read more about what this looks like in my recent publication with Latin@ Literatures.
LY: What are you currently reading?
AMA: I’ve recently gotten into Latin American gothic/horror/speculative fiction, so I’ve been chipping away at Eat the Mouth That Feeds You by Carribean Fragoza and Itzá by Rios de la Luz.
We hope you have a better understanding of how Ariadne contributes to Red Hen and the literary community as a whole! Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
