Classes and Workshops  
Online via Zoom until further notice

For over 30 years, I have 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 currently teach at The Writer's Center, The Writer's Passage, The Loft Literary Center, as well as in in private homes in Maryland and Washington, DC.

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Upcoming Online Classes

Writing for Procrastinators
Sponsored by The Writer's Center
June 24 - July 15, 2021
4 Thursdays, 7-9pm EST
Registration opens soon 
Struggling to start—or finish—that story, poetry collection, novel, or essay? With short readings and effective in-class exercises, you’ll clarify what keeps you from writing. As a group, we’ll discuss obstacles to success, and experiment with a variety of strategies to break our bad habits and build writing routines that work. You’ll leave with an empowered relationship to your work that will keep you motivated and on track. Join us to stretch beyond your comfort zone and make real progress on one specific piece. 

Erasure Poetry Workshop
2021 Gaithersburg Book Festival (Virtual)
May 15, 2021
Saturday, Noon-1pm EST
FREE Registration opens soon
Erasure Poetry is hands on, accessible for all levels, and fun! Join us to discover the scope and range that erasure poems can take (from crossed out words, to incorporating collage and image), as well as the use of erasure poems as a political act. We’ll also spend some time creating erasure poems of our own. No prior experience with poetry is needed. Texts to “erase” will be provided.

Building a Poetry Chapbook
Sponsored by The Loft Literary Center
July 29 - Aug. 19, 2021 
4 Thursdays, 7-9pm EST
Registration opens soon
Join a group of committed poets to discuss ordering, publishing options, and how to build a chapbook that is cohesive yet expansive. Participants will submit 5-8 poem excerpts to small groups for feedback on the overall manuscript (themes, structure, etc.), as well as individual poems.

Recent Classes

Exploring Memoir
Sponsored by The Writer's Center
February 13, 2021
Saturday, 1-4pm EST
SOLD OUT! 

Reviving Stuck Poems
Sponsored by The Writer's Center
March 6, 2021
Saturday, 1-4pm EST
SOLD OUT! 

From a participant:
"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."

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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."

- “It was obvious from the beginning that Melanie knows the field and is really effective at providing commentary that was well modulated for a group of ‘generalists.’”
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- “I learned so much - it was rigorous, engaging, and challenging. Melanie was organized and prepared, yet extremely adept at responding to individual needs and learning styles."​

- "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.”

​- “You sparkle as a teacher, bringing the complex work of poetry to life. Your feedback was demanding, but very, very helpful." 

- “Melanie has an amazing ability to facilitate respectful and useful group critique and discussion, and she responds to students' writing with sincerity, high standards, and respect for each student's ability level and need for encouragement. I feel lucky to have had the chance to learn from her."