Workshops

TELL ME A SECRET: WRITING THE MEMOIR
Each of us has a wonderful story to tell, yet for most these stories remain untold. In this workshop we will explore our own stories
and begin writing pieces focused on specific moments that are significant to us. We will look at examples from other writers and
discuss how memoir can be integrated into projects of different genres, including poetry and fiction. We will learn new techniques
for mining our memories and develop a new appreciation for the richness of our own lives. Previous participants have started books
about their families to pass on to their children and grandchildren; others have gone on to apply workshop exercises to new writing
projects.

A MOMENT IN TIME: A PHOTOGRAPH IN WORDS
"The great power of Poetry is the preservative …. to take a moment in time and attempt to hold it" according to poet Mark Doty.  
In her anthology "What Have You Lost?" poet Naomi Shihab Nye challenges readers to confront "Moments for which there are no
words."  In this workshop we will read poems in which poets have framed and encapsulated just such moments. These poems will
be like guides lighting the way for us to find expression for our own very special moments in time, moments which, until now, we
have had no words to describe.

WHAT’S YOUR OPINION?
How Bessy Reyna became an opinion columnist and why we should all be submitting opinion pieces to our local newspapers.

WHEN POETRY HAPPENS... AND WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT
A Poetry Workshop for Non-Poets
This workshop introduces poems which are unique, engaging, humorous and non-threatening. The purpose of the workshop is to
encourage participants to discover poetry which speaks to their daily lives and to discuss issues we all have in common. The
selected poems which will be distributed to and read by the participants, demonstrate how even the seemingly unimportant daily
occurrences (like shaving, driving a car, doing laundry, or observing the kitchen table) have been transformed into poems by
writers of diverse backgrounds. The readings flow into a deceptively simple writing exercise in which participants feel free to
express themselves in a poem or narrative.


"Your session [When Poetry Happens] got tremendous remarks in the evaluations. You are called 'helpful', 'brilliant,' 'wise' and so
much more. There can be some tough judges in a gang of
newspaper people but you won over them all!"         
                                                                                                                   Korky Vann and Dennis Horgan, Directors
                                                                                                                   National Writers Workshop presented by the
                                                                                                                   Hartford Courant and the Poynter Institute