Classes & Workshops
All 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.
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.
Upcoming Online Classes
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From Fragments to Focus:
Building a Writing Project Dec. 29, 2020 & Jan. 12 & 26, 2021 Every other Tuesday, 7-9pm EST $160 Register Now! Do you have lots of notes and fragments or tons of “morning pages” that you think might be something bigger? This class is designed to offer you clarity, direction, and inspiration. For writers who want to explore, organize, and work with their writing fragments and start to develop them into something “real” - an essay, book, play, novel, chapbook. This will be a generative workshop where participants will support each other to meet goals. We’ll meet every other week to give participants time to make good headway in between sessions. Sessions will include practical tips and exercises, discussions and feedback, and time to connect with other writers struggling with similar issues.
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Poetry Forms: How Form Fits Content
January 13 - Feb. 17, 2021 Wednesdays, 10am-noon EST $215 Register Now! This class picks up where my recent class on formal poetry left off. We'll read and write formal poetry from many possible traditional (pantoums, odes, syllabics) to contemporary (praise songs, golden shovels) to borrowed forms (lists, epistles, instruction manuals, questionnaires). We'll see how form can serve and set-free our content. Class will be a mix of sharing work with each other, reading and learning new forms, discussion, and detailed feedback from the instructor on student work.
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Monthly Poetry Workshop
Jan. 16, Feb. 6, March 13, April 17, May 8 & June 5, 2021 Saturdays, 9:30am-noon EST; $275 Register Now! For poets with some experience. This will be a mix of readings, discussion and group workshops facilitated by me. In addition to workshopping student work, we will also close-read a more complicated poem in each session - this is a great chance to tackle some longer/more challenging poems (perhaps Emily Dickinson, Allison Cobb, Eve Ewing, Raul Zurita, etc.) and enhance your reading skills. Meeting monthly offers students time to read, reflect and generate new work. Depending on total enrollment, each student has the chance to have 2-3 poems workshopped by the group, and detailed feedback from instructor. Limit 12 participants.
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Exploring Memoir
Sponsored by The Writer's Center February 13, 2021 Saturday, 1-4pm EST Register Now! Thinking about writing a memoir? Writing a book is a big dream – so it’s important to start out on the right foot. In this class, you’ll get clear about what your memoir is really about. We’ll discuss timeframes, intentions, and goals for the finished project. Participants will leave this class with a clear roadmap with how to proceed. Learn to avoid some dead-end roads, and get practical tips to manage feeling overwhelmed and stay motivated. Learn some simple structures that work to support you on this creative journey. |
Introduction to Poetry
Sponsored by The Writer's Center February 16 - March 23, 2021 6 Tuesdays, 7-9pm EST Register Now! Each session is devoted to one aspect of craft (imagery, line breaks, form, etc.) with a chance to share work aloud. Join us to discuss great poems and see craft in action, practice new skills, and do fun weekly assignments. You’ll come away with an appreciation for the power of poetry and have a solid knowledge of how write your own. The instructor will give feedback on 2 poems from each participant. Required text: The Poet’s Companion. |
Reviving Stuck Poems
Sponsored by The Writer's Center March 6, 2021 Saturday, 1-4pm EST Register Now! We all have some poems that get stuck, despite the fact that we still care about them and want them to work. How do you open up a poem and keep its original energy? How you discover the heart of the poem and what it’s really trying to say and be? How do you spot the “dead zones” in your poems that aren’t working? In this class, you’ll practice a variety of fun, effective exercises to revive stuck poems and create the momentum to finally finish them. Bring 2-3 poems that you want to work on in class. |
Praise
-"I just wanted to say thank you for the class [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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-"Your knowledge and insights in class were awesome. You knocked my socks off!"
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