Workshops, etc.:   It's all about connecting.




Drawing on a quarter-century of experience as an educator and professional writer, and a commitment to sharing my love of the written word, I offer workshops for children, teenagers, and adults, custom-designed to meet the needs and experience-level of participants.  I also offer a publishing workshop which equips more experienced writers with necessary tools and techniques.

Workshops can be scheduled as single-session events or in multiple meetings over a period of weeks or months. An example of the former was workshops given to middle school and high school students in Buffalo, Wyoming in May of 2013 and 2014, as part of that community’s annual Celebrate the Arts Day. An example of the latter was my year-long work with at-risk students of Expedition Academy in Green River, Wyoming, 2013-14.
Here are five single-session workshops that I have provided to college classes and adult groups in the past few years: 
  • Re-seeing our Poems: The Essence of Revision, a conversation-based exchange of ideas and activities concerning this critical stage of the poem-making process (offered at Coconino Community College in Flagstaff in October 2013 and at the Wyoming Writers Conference in June 2013).
  • Contemporary Music and Poetry: Creative Connections, in which a series of stellar contemporary songs and poems inspires our own creative efforts (first offered at the Karen Chamberlain Poetry Festival in Carbondale, CO in April 2013).
  • Words for the World: Nature Writing, helps participants ground their open-air writing in the here and now, with close observation, rich description, and accurate naming of the things of the world. It is, of course, best taught outdoors (offered at Western Wyoming College).
  • Turning Teenagers on to Poetry, a discussion-based session, rich with resources, on how to awaken students to the pleasures of writing, reading, and sharing poetry (offered to high school teachers at the Poetry Out Loud state competition in Cheyenne, Wyoming, March 2013).
  • The Ins and Outs of Publishing provides tools and techniques for conducting market research, using online resources, preparing manuscripts for publication, establishing a record-keeping system, and submitting work to publishers (offered each fall at Western Wyoming College).
Performances of my work are similarly audience-centered, and sometimes include slideshows. I especially favor sharing the air space with students or local writers. My program "Beneath the Rim: Stories and Pictures from Inside the Grand Canyon," based on my four decades of canyon hiking, has proven to be immensely popular in venues across the country. The bottom line: I am interested in connecting to other people, not displaying a skill.

Logistics: I well understand the funding challenges that often beset public schools, libraries and other non-profits, and I am pledged to do whatever I can to help make an event happen, through grant-assistance, matching funds contributions, and a sliding fee scale. The Wyoming Arts Council provides up to $750 of funding through its Arts Across Wyoming grant to help fund artist program in communities around the state.