Poetry Workshop in Tuscany, May 13 – 20, 2006

Once again this spring I will teach a poetry workshop at Il Chiostro, a country farmhouse where wine and olive oil have been produced for hundreds and hundreds of years. Practically speaking, the workshop is a chance to immerse yourself in writing in a place of deep roots and sensuousness. The group will be small (no more than 10); that, and the uniqueness of the setting, make it possible for me to give much individual attention to your poems. The week includes excursions to the medieval town of Siena and other sites. Contact me for more details or to receive a brochure or visit Il Chiostro’s website.

Click here for a registration form in PDF format.

This year I will also teach “The Soul of a Poem” at the New York Writers Workshop/ Jewish Community Center Manhattan; and “Foundations of the Creative Process” at New York University’s McGhee Division.

My focus as a teacher is to help students discover their deepest material by learning to write into the unknown. The approach, which draws on my work with the poet Ruth Danon, centers on improvisational exercises that free students to write without preconceived notions of content or form.

The exercises, which often involve language or physical objects, provide both a stimulus and a flexible structure, allowing students to write playfully, take risks and reveal the unexpected. Students learn to trust their intuition and find unusual ways into difficult material. They extend the range and possibilities of their language, and open to the non-rational, mysterious and elusive at the heart of experience.

For a description and dates of my class “The Soul of a Poem,” visit the JCC Manhattan website. To register: call 1-646-505-5708.

To learn more about my work teaching poetry, read Writing in the Asylum by Jennifer McCormick (Teachers College Press).