Workshops and Editing Services 

I give workshops and talks on the Long Poem; Using Fairy Tales in Writing; Prose Poetry; Poetry; Memoir; and NonFiction. ​​


​Workshops

Prose Poetry Workshops

Charles Simic says that prose poetry is “the monster child of two incompatible strategies, the lyric and the narrative.” I think it’s the tension between those impulses that energizes prose poems, which are basically poems without the line breaks, written as short blocks of text. This form can allow writers to follow a thread of thought more directly, without particular regard for simile, metaphor or other poetic conventions. I liken them to small windows that frame a part of a day, or daydream. The instructor (me) will bring prompts to stimulate writing, and sample poems to discuss. We’ll write prose poems together, share fragments of text to discuss, and write some more.  For examples of my prose poems please go to Online Poems.

Long Poem Workshops

My interest in the long poem runs deep, reflected most recently in Trailer Park Elegy, but also in Cuba Journal and Woods Wolf Girl. Recent articles on the long poem are, http://poets.ca/2017/11/09/killing-myself-laughing-in-the-eligiac-long-poem/ on the
League of Canadian Poets website and “The Long Poem and the Shape of the Working Mind” in “The Long Poem Symposium” in Malahat Review. I'd be happy to share my knowledge and considerable experience with you and your group. 

Publishing Workshop

In the writing courses I teach, participants often ask about publishing. There are a number of options to pursue when considering publication:

• The value of belonging to a literary community (whether that community is the members of a writing group, or at another level of engagement).
• Chapbooks as a way of getting your work published.
• The importance of editing as part of the process of publishing. 
• A survey of publishing options available to you, with links to publishing services.. ​

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Fairy Tale Workshop

This is perhaps my best known area of expertise; Woods Wolf Girl, in which i take up the fairy tale Red Riding Hood,  is in its second printing. With long-standing scholarly, theatrical, literary and autobiographical expertise in fairy tales, I lead participants in making connections among fairy tale imagery, plot and their own life events. Curiosity about fairy tales inevitably leads to powerful juxtapositions. Be warned!

​Feedback from previous workshop participants: 

• Marvellous workshop – a great blend of theatre and poetry.  Thank you!
• Use of visuals and discussion of the visual details was excellent – a point I will use over and over in my writing.
• The workshop has expanded the range of the possible for each tale. The slides were wonderful in this regard, as was the role-playing around Oprah.
• The three-member storytelling activity, the quick exchanges, the one-character focus, the way out prompts, were very helpful. We were all on the same page, playful, opening ideas. Wonderful.
• The exercise of trying to find one's own introductory and ending sentence is very valuable and challenging and crucial because it forces one to zero in on the core theme. I will keep that very much in mind as I work on a fairy tale.
• Many new avenues have opened for me. The slides in particular were fabulous in this regard.

Other Workshops 

For workshops in Poetry, Memoir and NonFiction, please contact me (see below). Manuscript services available in poetry, fiction, memoir and nonfiction.  

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