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 Classes
Revision as Discovery - ONLINE
Sponsored by The Loft Literary Center
6 Thursdays, Sept. 21 - Oct. 26, 2023
6-8pm CT / 7-9pm ET on ZOOM
Register now!
How do we find a poem’s heart? We all have poems that get stuck, even though we still care about them. Everyone has fragments that have energy to become something more. How do we discover the themes and threads so that it becomes a juicy poem that unfolds with multiple readings? Revision is much more than wordsmithing and cutting. Revision is an act of expansion, a chance to deepen our thinking, invite surprise, fold in multiple narratives, and strengthen our relationship with our work. This class will re-frame how you think about, and approach, revision.
Join us for a mix of discussion, substantial in-class exercises, close readings of revisions by published poets, and lots of practical tips for revision. We'll also look at how "working titles" and our syntactical habits can hold back our drafts. Class will include 2 small group sessions, where you’ll give and receive verbal feedback on each other’s drafts with a clear set of discussion guidelines. Instructor will provide feedback on one draft revised during class. Best for the poet who has 5 or more drafts they want to revise over the course of the class. Bring one draft to our first class.
Sponsored by The Loft Literary Center
6 Thursdays, Sept. 21 - Oct. 26, 2023
6-8pm CT / 7-9pm ET on ZOOM
Register now!
How do we find a poem’s heart? We all have poems that get stuck, even though we still care about them. Everyone has fragments that have energy to become something more. How do we discover the themes and threads so that it becomes a juicy poem that unfolds with multiple readings? Revision is much more than wordsmithing and cutting. Revision is an act of expansion, a chance to deepen our thinking, invite surprise, fold in multiple narratives, and strengthen our relationship with our work. This class will re-frame how you think about, and approach, revision.
Join us for a mix of discussion, substantial in-class exercises, close readings of revisions by published poets, and lots of practical tips for revision. We'll also look at how "working titles" and our syntactical habits can hold back our drafts. Class will include 2 small group sessions, where you’ll give and receive verbal feedback on each other’s drafts with a clear set of discussion guidelines. Instructor will provide feedback on one draft revised during class. Best for the poet who has 5 or more drafts they want to revise over the course of the class. Bring one draft to our first class.
Line Breaks in Poetry - ONLINE
Sponsored by The Writer's Center
Saturday, Sept. 23, 2023
10am - 12:30pm ET on ZOOM
Register now!
Enhance your poems’ musicality, tension, and meaning with smarter line breaks. Baffled by line breaks? In this hands-on class, we’ll explore how line breaks create and affect musicality and tension in a poem. We’ll also discuss how line length affects pace and rhythm, and how good line breaks add to your poem’s energy and meaning. Through in-class exercises and discussion, you’ll not only start to notice your own habits with the line, but also discover new options of where to break the line—and why. Bring a copy of a free verse poem (at least 14 lines/1400 words) you wrote that you feel could benefit from more intentional line breaks.
Sponsored by The Writer's Center
Saturday, Sept. 23, 2023
10am - 12:30pm ET on ZOOM
Register now!
Enhance your poems’ musicality, tension, and meaning with smarter line breaks. Baffled by line breaks? In this hands-on class, we’ll explore how line breaks create and affect musicality and tension in a poem. We’ll also discuss how line length affects pace and rhythm, and how good line breaks add to your poem’s energy and meaning. Through in-class exercises and discussion, you’ll not only start to notice your own habits with the line, but also discover new options of where to break the line—and why. Bring a copy of a free verse poem (at least 14 lines/1400 words) you wrote that you feel could benefit from more intentional line breaks.
Gwendolyn Brooks & The Golden Shovel - ONLINE
Sponsored by Hugo House
4 Saturdays, Oct. 14 - Nov. 4, 2023
10am - Noon PT / 1-4pm ET on ZOOM
Register now!
In this generative class, we’ll take inspiration from poems of Gwendolyn Brooks. Each week, we’ll read and discuss her poems, and take time to write our own Golden Shovels—a fun, flexible form invented by Terrence Hayes in tribute to Brooks. We’ll read aloud our drafts each week, and also workshop more polished drafts in small groups (twice), write during class, and discuss revision. The instructor will offer written feedback on one Golden Shovel/student. Come ready to write and have fun.
Course text: Selected Poems by Gwendolyn Brooks (Harper Collins ISBN: 9780060882969)
Recommended text: The Golden Shovel Anthology ed. by Kahn, Shankar, Smith.
Sponsored by Hugo House
4 Saturdays, Oct. 14 - Nov. 4, 2023
10am - Noon PT / 1-4pm ET on ZOOM
Register now!
In this generative class, we’ll take inspiration from poems of Gwendolyn Brooks. Each week, we’ll read and discuss her poems, and take time to write our own Golden Shovels—a fun, flexible form invented by Terrence Hayes in tribute to Brooks. We’ll read aloud our drafts each week, and also workshop more polished drafts in small groups (twice), write during class, and discuss revision. The instructor will offer written feedback on one Golden Shovel/student. Come ready to write and have fun.
Course text: Selected Poems by Gwendolyn Brooks (Harper Collins ISBN: 9780060882969)
Recommended text: The Golden Shovel Anthology ed. by Kahn, Shankar, Smith.
Write Better Poetry Titles - ONLINE
Sponsored by The Writers Center
Saturday, Nov. 18, 2023
1-4pm ET on ZOOM
Register now!
Expand your poem’s meaning and grab readers’ attention with stronger titles. Titles are one of the most important spots in a poem, but what makes a good title? How can a title expand a poem’s meaning and impact? How can a weak one hold back important revisions? In this class, we’ll review the six main kinds of titles and study strong examples. We’ll do some powerful in-class exercises to discover new titles that perhaps lead to stronger revisions. Please bring 2-3 poems (not first drafts) that still need a good title.
Sponsored by The Writers Center
Saturday, Nov. 18, 2023
1-4pm ET on ZOOM
Register now!
Expand your poem’s meaning and grab readers’ attention with stronger titles. Titles are one of the most important spots in a poem, but what makes a good title? How can a title expand a poem’s meaning and impact? How can a weak one hold back important revisions? In this class, we’ll review the six main kinds of titles and study strong examples. We’ll do some powerful in-class exercises to discover new titles that perhaps lead to stronger revisions. Please bring 2-3 poems (not first drafts) that still need a good title.
Sestinas! - ONLINE
Sponsored by Hugo House
Saturday, Dec. 2, 2023
10am - 1pm PT / 1-4pm ET on ZOOM
Register now!
Curious about this formal poem that can build your literary muscles with repetition, diction, description, and more? Take a crack at a sestina or learn how to write a better one. Sestinas often fail because writers don’t pair the form with the right sized story/idea, so we’ll begin with the “rules,” brainstorm ideas, and study how a few good sestinas work. The instructor will offer helpful insights and discuss revision. You’ll leave with a solid start on your own sestina.
Sponsored by Hugo House
Saturday, Dec. 2, 2023
10am - 1pm PT / 1-4pm ET on ZOOM
Register now!
Curious about this formal poem that can build your literary muscles with repetition, diction, description, and more? Take a crack at a sestina or learn how to write a better one. Sestinas often fail because writers don’t pair the form with the right sized story/idea, so we’ll begin with the “rules,” brainstorm ideas, and study how a few good sestinas work. The instructor will offer helpful insights and discuss revision. You’ll leave with a solid start on your own sestina.
Feedback from Recent Participants
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Starting a Large Writing Project
"So useful and encouraging! The principles you covered are going to stay with me!" 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." 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." |
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." |
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." 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." Strong Poetry Titles
"Thank you for this workshop. You’ve given me great ideas for revision and I appreciate your worksheets; very useful and helpful!" |
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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