The Academy of Intentional Magic (AIM), a new creative learning platform, has officially launched, building on the nearly twenty-year legacy of the Poetry Barn. The expanded initiative aims to serve as a broader commons for artists, writers, teachers, and creatives, fostering interdisciplinary exchange and community.
Founder Lissa Kiernan, citing Kahlil Gibran's aphorism 'Work is love made visible,' explained the driving philosophy behind AIM. 'For artists, that work is often what we can't stop returning to — the poem revised for the tenth time, the scale practiced ad nauseam, the scrappy xeriscape garden. That's the spirit behind the Academy.'
While poetry remains central to AIM's mission, the platform now embraces artists of all kinds, particularly encouraging the intersections between disciplines where one way of seeing can transform another. This interdisciplinary focus is sustained through 'Murmurations,' AIM's online community for works-in-progress, questions, discoveries, and creative invitations.
The Academy provides a comprehensive ecosystem for working artists, encompassing eight interconnected areas: Community, Education, Mentoring, Publishing, Library, Retreats, Outreach, and more. The Education segment continues the tradition of pioneering online poetry workshops with curated studios, craft labs, and circles across the arts. Mentoring offers access to a consortium of master mentors, from single consultations to ongoing relationships. Publishing opportunities are available through AIM's press and journal. The Library provides free public access to 4,000 volumes of poetry, with a special focus on single-author collections and rare, out-of-print titles. Retreats offer immersive experiences led by master teaching artists, and Outreach partners with high schools to deliver multidisciplinary arts workshops.
In keeping with its inclusive philosophy, AIM makes no distinction between art and craft or between formal and popular traditions. A classical form and a rock lyric, a folk craft and a fine art, are held with the same seriousness and welcome. Fall offerings reflect this diversity, wandering through myth, wonder, and the stars. One of the first workshops is 'Sky Writing: Write Your Own Horoscope,' led by somatic astrologer Cory Nakasue, taking place on September 8, 15, 22, and 29 from 6–8 p.m. ET. The workshop approaches the horoscope as a creative and symbolic form, combining interpretation, storytelling, and poetry.
To mark Labor Day, AIM invites artists to share what they are working on in Murmurations — a messy draft, a half-finished painting, a melody, a collage, an outline, an experiment, or even the seed of an idea. The invitation comes with no expectation of polish; the Academy wants to see the work while it is still becoming. AIM is also currently inviting teaching artists to propose a practice, experience, or learning module for future offerings.
The Academy of Intentional Magic's programs are available now at www.academyofintentionalmagic.com. With its roots in the Poetry Barn's nearly two decades of workshops, readings, and retreats, AIM grows into a full ecosystem of community, education, mentorship, publishing, and outreach, celebrating art, imagination, and mystery.
