Classes and Workshops
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For 35 years, I've taught a wide variety of creative writing, composition, and literature classes to adults, children, college students, and incarcerated adults and teens.
I am an encouraging, practical, and inspiring teacher. I love watching students get that "aha moment" as they discover something gorgeous in a poem we are studying, or as they see a way to revise their work and more fully realize their vision for the reader. I have received awards for Excellence in Teaching from The Loft Literary Center, the University of Utah, and the Jerome Foundation. I currently teach at a variety of literary arts centers across the country - as well as at regional book festivals and conferences and in private homes in the Washington, DC area. |
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Upcoming Online Classes
Starting a Memoir
Sponsored by The Writers Center
Tuesday, July 1, 2025; 6:30-9:30pm ET on Zoom
Register now!
For writers in the early stages of writing their memoir. Learn what you need to get off to a great start with this class led by an experienced writing coach and editor. Class includes practical discussion, lots of helpful tips, and some in-class exercises designed to offer clarity, direction, and inspiration as you move forward with your memoir. We’ll cover issues of time management, staying organized and motivated, good resources, and managing those inner critics. You’ll leave class with realistic goals and a clear map forward.
Sestinas!
Sponsored by The Loft Literary Center
Saturday, August 16, 2025; 9am-noon ET on Zoom
Register now!
Take a crack at a sestina or learn how to write a better one. In this fun class, we’ll brainstorm ideas, go over the "rules" and study how a few good sestinas work. You’ll leave with a solid start on your own sestina.
Poetry Workshop
7 Mondays, Sept. 15-Oct. 27, 2025
7-9pm on Zoom; $365
Register now!
OPEN TO: up to 7 poets who see their work as intermediate/advanced and have a working knowledge of basic craft elements such as line breaks, imagery, form. If you have any questions, please contact me!
For this poetry workshop, we’ll focus on writing new work or revising previous drafts, and offering feedback to each other that is encouraging, specific, and addresses the concerns of the poet. We’ll be committed to helping each other get to the next draft. I will facilitate the workshop using a format based on Liz Lerman’s Critical Response Process that prioritizes the poet being workshopped and their needs, controls opinions and fix-its, and honors the creative process. Most anti-racist facilitators (Salesse, Rose Chavez, etc.) cite Lerman’s process as fundamental to their work. I have used this process for over 25 years and can vouch for its ability to offer respectful feedback, breakthrough results and profound training. It offers the poet being workshopped agency, choice, and a more positive experience. Details/Expectations:
Ghazals!
Sponsored by The Loft Literary Center
Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025; 9am-noon ET on Zoom
Registration opens soon
Feeling heartsick? There's a poetic form for that. The ghazal, a 6th century Arabic form, explores melancholy, love, and metaphysical questions. We'll read samples (Rumi, Hafiz, Agha Shahid Ali, Adrienne Rich, Fatimah Askar), learn the rules, and begin to draft our own. Time for questions, reading drafts, tips for revision.
Villanelles!
Sponsored by The Loft Literary Center
Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025; 9am-noon ET on Zoom
Registration opens soon
Join us for a fun morning. We’ll read some villanelles, discuss what topics are best for this form. Then you’ll begin to write your own. You'll learn about the villanelle's craft elements that you can apply to all your poems: rhyme, repetition, line breaks, enjambement, repetition. Revision tips, too!
Sponsored by The Writers Center
Tuesday, July 1, 2025; 6:30-9:30pm ET on Zoom
Register now!
For writers in the early stages of writing their memoir. Learn what you need to get off to a great start with this class led by an experienced writing coach and editor. Class includes practical discussion, lots of helpful tips, and some in-class exercises designed to offer clarity, direction, and inspiration as you move forward with your memoir. We’ll cover issues of time management, staying organized and motivated, good resources, and managing those inner critics. You’ll leave class with realistic goals and a clear map forward.
Sestinas!
Sponsored by The Loft Literary Center
Saturday, August 16, 2025; 9am-noon ET on Zoom
Register now!
Take a crack at a sestina or learn how to write a better one. In this fun class, we’ll brainstorm ideas, go over the "rules" and study how a few good sestinas work. You’ll leave with a solid start on your own sestina.
Poetry Workshop
7 Mondays, Sept. 15-Oct. 27, 2025
7-9pm on Zoom; $365
Register now!
OPEN TO: up to 7 poets who see their work as intermediate/advanced and have a working knowledge of basic craft elements such as line breaks, imagery, form. If you have any questions, please contact me!
For this poetry workshop, we’ll focus on writing new work or revising previous drafts, and offering feedback to each other that is encouraging, specific, and addresses the concerns of the poet. We’ll be committed to helping each other get to the next draft. I will facilitate the workshop using a format based on Liz Lerman’s Critical Response Process that prioritizes the poet being workshopped and their needs, controls opinions and fix-its, and honors the creative process. Most anti-racist facilitators (Salesse, Rose Chavez, etc.) cite Lerman’s process as fundamental to their work. I have used this process for over 25 years and can vouch for its ability to offer respectful feedback, breakthrough results and profound training. It offers the poet being workshopped agency, choice, and a more positive experience. Details/Expectations:
- Each week we will workshop 3 poets (30 minutes each).
- If there is extra time, an outside poem may be discussed for a craft focus.
- Each poet will be able to be workshopped in at least 3 separate sessions.
- Each poet is committed to thoughtfully reading the work of their peers and providing respectful feedback.
- Each participant commits to learning and practicing Liz Lerman’s Critical Response Process with training and ongoing support from me.
Ghazals!
Sponsored by The Loft Literary Center
Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025; 9am-noon ET on Zoom
Registration opens soon
Feeling heartsick? There's a poetic form for that. The ghazal, a 6th century Arabic form, explores melancholy, love, and metaphysical questions. We'll read samples (Rumi, Hafiz, Agha Shahid Ali, Adrienne Rich, Fatimah Askar), learn the rules, and begin to draft our own. Time for questions, reading drafts, tips for revision.
Villanelles!
Sponsored by The Loft Literary Center
Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025; 9am-noon ET on Zoom
Registration opens soon
Join us for a fun morning. We’ll read some villanelles, discuss what topics are best for this form. Then you’ll begin to write your own. You'll learn about the villanelle's craft elements that you can apply to all your poems: rhyme, repetition, line breaks, enjambement, repetition. Revision tips, too!
Feedback from Recent Participants
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Voice & Tone in Persona Poems
"I am loving your class so much. Just soaking up as much as I can. Your teaching style is a really good fit for me and the selection of poems you chose for this class - i want to eat them!! Building a Poetry Chapbook
"Your class has been tremendously insightful to me and helped me think of my work differently already." "Thank you for the well structured and insightful course." Traditional & Contemporary
Poetic Forms "Thank you for the reminder to be OK with being messy and imperfect. What kind and generous words you gave us this morning. I'll take them to heart." Create a Writing Routine That Works
"The handouts were very helpful as takeaways from the class, and Melanie was super awesome." "Practical information that I can implement." "The pacing of class was perfect." |
Line Breaks: Tools of Musical Notation
"This class is fabulous! You are blowing my mind. I should have taken it long ago." Starting a Memoir
"Thank you so much-yesterday was invaluable and far exceeded already high expectations." Revision as Discovery
"I'm looking at revision in a whole new way. The exercises you shared are a game-changer for me!" Writing for Procrastinators
"You are a fantastic instructor! You are very creative in pulling the class together with small discussions and what not. And, I love the reading assignments." "I appreciate your judgment-free class." "Your course has helped me to get started with my writing again, every day, and revitalized my passion for my book. I'm very grateful for what you've given us." Exploring Memoir
"Thank you for this class! Very motivating!" "Many thanks -- very helpful!" " Great class!" Submit Your Stuff to Literary Magazines
"Your class on submitting work was really, really great. I've taken a class in submitting work a few years ago and I have to say, yours was much more thorough." Sestinas!
"Thanks for class today. I just wanted to say, this was by far the best Loft class I've taken. I'll hope to take more from you in the future." |
Reviving Stuck Poems
"Your workshop yesterday was fantastic. It has really opened up my thinking about the poems I revised during the session. A new direction in one and a connection I hadn't totally grasped in the other. I plan to use the activities in the future. Thank you for giving me these most helpful tools. I feel liberated." Write Stronger Poetry Titles
"Thank you for this workshop. You’ve given me great ideas for revision and I appreciate your worksheets; very useful and helpful!" "I really enjoyed your class this morning. I appreciate your organization and excellent teaching style. I learned so much and feel like I have new tools at my disposal to not only create better titles but to improve my poems! Thank you so much." Poetry II: Re-imagining Critique
"Thank you for leading a great workshop. It has helped me be a better reader for others and a better judge of what feedback I would like for my work." Starting a Large Writing Project
"So useful and encouraging! The principles you covered are going to stay with me!" |
Praise
- "Thank you for your class on Submitting Your Poems. I followed your excellent advice and voila! I had 3 poems accepted. This is my first publication in over 10 years. Now I'm ready to keep trying to get my work out into the world - all thanks to you."
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- "Melanie is a treasure—a quirky, committed, talented treasure. She was/is as good or better than anyone I had at my Ivy League university. Most notable, she cares.”
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