Workshop Description:

When we write poems about our lives, what we want is to share the beauty and sometimes the pain. But how close can we get to achieving this goal? This class will help you push the truth of your experiences in that direction. No matter what we write about, our poems come from within, from emotions and memories, good and bad, of every event from the most mundane to the most tragic. What might a poem about the first popsicle you ever tasted be like? Would it be a poem? Would anyone care about such a personal experience? In this course, we will explore those foundational events with intention. We will get as close as we can, down to the splinters in the popsicle stick and the stains on our fingers. Then we will extract its beauty.

Workshop Details:

Spring 2025
Six sessions with Melody Wilson
Wednesday Evenings from 6:00 to 8:00 PM (ET)
Dates: May 21, 28, June 4, 11, 18, 25
$264
Register for Truth Before Beauty: Writing the Lived Experience

Workshop Facilitator:

Melody Wilson is an award-winning poet who, after a career teaching poetry at the college level, is excited to teach privately. She has taught both in person and on Zoom and brings powerful prompts and insightful reading. Her collection Swan Song has been finalist for the Catamaran Prize and the Louisville Poetry Prize. She holds an MA in English Literature from Portland State University and an MFA in Poetry from Pacific University.

Comments:

Melody Wilson's prompts are creative and generative. She has a good sense of what makes writers find new ideas and ways of thinking about old ideas. Also, her feedback is always specific and constructive--she can find the kernel and help develop it into something.  – Ann Stinson, author of The Ground at My Feet: Sustaining a Family and a Forest, finalist for the Oregon Book Award, 2023

I took Melody’s class as a beginner. She has a firm, but gentle touch. I never felt overwhelmed. She heard what I was trying to express and responded in a way that encouraged me to move deeper into my poem. I learned to see images as a way to tell. She made me believe in myself as a poet. Because of her, I continue on my poetic journey.  – MaryJo Cook

Questions: editors@riverheronreview.com

Discount: RHR Discount does not apply to this workshop.

Refunds: Up to one week prior to the workshop start date, full refund minus $15 processing fee. After that time, there are no refunds.

Workshop sessions are not recorded, nor are there make up sessions.