Write With Me
Join me for craft seminars and workshops at Lighthouse Writers Workshop, coaching sessions, and drop-in virtual writing classes.
Mapping Territory / How to Organize a Poetry Manuscript
Meets: Once / Virtual / 3 hours
An updated version of this popular class I’ve taught at LitFest. You know how to craft a poem that makes a complete journey. Yet, when it’s time to organize a book-length manuscript, you may feel lost amidst your poems’ many themes, images, narratives, voices, and POVs. This session explores useful tools to map a collection’s terrain, including how to identify primary and secondary themes (They may not be what you think!), establish the major legs of the readers’ journey (how to group poems into sections), and use titles to transform a sheath of poems into a book that guides the reader thoughtfully through its territory. $75
Poetry Manuscript Development: 3-Month Course — NEW!
Meets: 3 months / 2 classes per month – 6 classes total / Virtual
Starting January 2023
Build focus and confidence in the process of developing a stand-out poetry manuscript. Designed for poets ready to assemble collections, this 3-month course meets twice monthly for interactive sessions* that explore key strategies for book development. We’ll learn from contemporary examples and apply practical insights to our own work, including:
- Unifying principles (voice & themes)
- Organizing and assembling your collection (book structure, sections, and poem order)
- Preparing your manuscript for submission (formatting, bios/cover letters, and selecting publishers) (2 classes)
Guest speakers will include poetry-book editors and publishers from independent presses. Each participant will have the opportunity to submit up to 25 pages of a manuscript for written feedback by me and verbal feedback from peers. At the end of the three months, you’ll present a selection of poems from your collection-in-progress. (*Sessions will be recorded for those with scheduling issues.) $675
Class Limit: 15 / This is a once-a-year opportunity with limited seats. Add your name to the list to pre-reserve your spot!
Poetry at Lighthouse Writers Workshop
At Lighthouse, I teach poetry classes and manuscript development seminars that emphasize a playful approach to form and technique, integrating the practice of poetry with close reading and workshop skills. Recent classes include The Art of Accumulation, Poetry Workshop, Poetry 101, Poetry and Paradox, Poems from Visual Art, and Mapping Territory: Organizing Your Poetry Manuscript.
Revision Workshop – NEW!
Meets: 6 Weeks / Virtual / Weekly
Tuesdays, 1pm-3pm MST, Feb 1-March 8 / Spring dates TBD
The Revision Workshop is a warm, collaborative space in which to evolve your poems. Over the six weeks, you’ll have multiple opportunities to present poems for focused feedback that will help you actualize the potential already present in your work. We’ll discuss how a variety of contemporary poets approach poem development and explore ways to personalize your own revision process—from considerations of craft to habits that help you sustain poetic practice. $270