I offer creative writing instruction with a specialization in literary nonfiction, essays, lyric, and flash forms, and a focus on techniques, craft, and generative exercises. I strive to create welcoming and supportive classroom environments for all, to foster community around the writing table, and to challenge and inspire students toward their most powerfully authentic writer-selves. In addition to my MFA degree, I am a certified Teacher of English as a Foreign Language (TEFL), and my group facilitation is informed by courses in Nonviolent Communication and Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction. A sample of previous courses include:

• Introduction to Creative Nonfiction: a plunge into the techniques of writing CNF, from memoir and personal essays to profiles and travelogues.

• The Micro Essay - Explorations in Flash Nonfiction: Between Twitter and wall feeds, blogs and Brevity, some of the most exciting contemporary writing is happening in the space between 140 characters and 1,000 words. In Micro Essay classes, we study how restraint and constraint can enhance the power of prose, and practice the art of economy in our own micro essays, inspired by readings and prompts.

• The Epistolary Essay: explores the epistolary form, from open letters to diaries, satire to hate mail, and maybe even a love letter or two (sincerely).

• Mindful Writing and The Anti-Workshop: These courses are a pilot light to the creative spark, a reminder of why we write in the first place: to play with words, invent, connect, reflect, record, and imagine. We’ll explore writing as creative expression and contemplative practice, mining unexpected sources to inspire new writing and energize the old.

• For four years I co-led The Golf Pencil Group, a weekly creative writing class for women incarcerated at the King County Jail in Seattle. To learn more about the group, or support with book or financial donations, please visit www.golfpencilgroup.com.

You can register for quarterly classes at Seattle’s Hugo House. For inquiries about private classes and workshops, guest teaching, or speaking events, please use the Contact form.