Classes and Workshops
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For 35 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 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 The Writer's Center, The Writer's Passage, The Loft Literary Center, as well as at regional book festivals and conferences and in private homes in the Washington, DC area. |
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Upcoming Offerings
Poems of the Historical Moment: Eve Ewing's 1919 - ONLINE
Sponsored by Hugo House
October 6 - November 10, 2022
4 Thursdays on ZOOM, 5-7pm PT/8-10pm ET
Registration Opens Soon
Eve Ewing’s poetry collection 1919 about the Chicago race riots will be our guide as we write poems about cultural moments. Our poems may focus on historical events or spring from primary sources—or we may use collective events as backdrops for our personal stories. We’ll read Ewing’s collection front to back and discuss it as a whole as well as spend concentrated time on individual poems (including some fun poetic forms).
Sponsored by Hugo House
October 6 - November 10, 2022
4 Thursdays on ZOOM, 5-7pm PT/8-10pm ET
Registration Opens Soon
Eve Ewing’s poetry collection 1919 about the Chicago race riots will be our guide as we write poems about cultural moments. Our poems may focus on historical events or spring from primary sources—or we may use collective events as backdrops for our personal stories. We’ll read Ewing’s collection front to back and discuss it as a whole as well as spend concentrated time on individual poems (including some fun poetic forms).
Feedback from Recent Participants
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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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