Unless otherwise noted, all workshops are held via Zoom.
Please email jswilliams1307@gmail.com to register.
Accepted forms of payment: PayPal, Venmo, Zelle, or mailed check.
One of America's most prolific poets, William Stafford (1914-1993) is, according to James Dickey in his book Babel to Byzantium, "a real poet, a born poet," whose "natural mode of speech is a gentle, mystical, half-mocking and highly personal daydreaming about the western United States." A consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress and a National Book Award winner, he often employed unique descriptions and worldly details to imply larger, universal human themes. A pacificist and conscientious objector, Stafford also participated in outdoor work camps during World War II, and these experiences were the basis for many of his more politically oriented poems.
This workshop will delve deeply into a number of Stafford’s poems, including his themes, style, and perspective, focusing on his nature, political, and compassionate poems, via active group discussion and writing prompts and some writing time to help you engage more directly with and be inspired by his work…putting his lessons into practice. And the class includes a 22-page handout!
A nonet is a nine-line poem. In the nonet form, each line contains specific, descending syllable counts. This form can contain any rhyming scheme and cover any subject matter. This intimate workshop will include lessons, analysis of a variety of nonets, in-class activities and writing, and (optional) sharing drafts with the class.
Is it difficult to attend live workshops during the summer months? Are you ready to write a lot of poetry and receive feedback on them all? Do you have older poems you’d like critiqued as well? Then please join me for…Summer 2026 Poetry Extravaganza: 60 Poems & 60 Critiques!
Similar to the goals of NaPoWriMo (National Poetry Writing Month), the aims of this self-paced class is to write 60 poems in over the summer. However, you might write one poem a day, or several poems in a day, and then give yourself a break. It’s totally up to you!
Whether you’re writing to a specific theme, assembling a group of poems for a chapbook, or you want to try writing a longer poetic sequence, this workshop is meant to support you with generative prompts and experiences to get you creating plenty of new work.
* Starts on the summer solstice: June 21 and extends across the entire summer!
What This Workshop Provides:
· 60 Days’ Worth of Writing Prompts
· A professional critique of all 60 poems as you send them, be it one each day or all 60 at the end of the summer
· Ability to ask John writing questions any time during the month
· Opportunity to replace poem critiques with live, one-on-one Zoom sessions!
To keep you consistently inspired, writing, and honing your craft, and to keep you engaged in a passionate poetic community, this month-long workshop series is aimed at helping you see your poems in a new light, broadening your vision, and improving your mechanics. Topics likely to arise include syntax, lineation, sound and rhythm, tone and mood, use of imagery, balancing the personal and universal, and other rhetorical strategies.
We will meet in a small, intimate, trusting group in which we can be honest and supportive of each other’s work. Each poet will compose one new poem each week, and we will start each session by reading and lightly critiquing it as a group. You will also receive intensive written feedback on each poem from me prior to the session. We will then move on to mini-lessons, fresh prompts, and hopefully some writing time!
Each week you will receive an inspiring seed idea designed to trigger the creation of a poem, share ideas about the process of writing poetry, workshop one of your poems, and receive feedback from the workshop group. Then, at the end of the week, I will give you a detailed response to your poem – with praise for the places where your poem is evocative and powerful, along with suggestions for revision where the poem has not reached its full potential. My goal is to give you a deeper understanding of poetry, a deeper love of language, and a stronger mastery of the techniques which make a modern poem work. I look forward to being a catalyst to help you take the next step in your writing!
Sijo is a Korean poetic form consisting of forty-four to forty-six syllables, traditionally in a three-line poem with fourteen to sixteen syllables per line, or as a six-line poem with varying syllables per line, with each line featuring a pause, similar to a caesura, near the middle. This intimate workshop will include lessons, analysis of a variety of sijo poems, in-class writing activities, and (optional) sharing drafts with the class.
Similar to the goals of NaPoWriMo (National Poetry Writing Month), the aims of this self-paced class is to write 30 poems in 30 days. However, you might write one poem a day, or several poems in a day, and then give yourself a break. It’s totally up to you!
Whether you’re writing to a specific theme, assembling a group of poems for a chapbook, or you want to try writing a longer poetic sequence, this workshop is meant to support you with generative prompts and experiences to get you creating plenty of new work.
What This Workshop Provides:
· 30 Days’ Worth of Writing Prompts
· A professional critique of all 30 poems as you send them, be it one each day or all 30 at the end of the month
· Ability to ask John writing questions any time during the month
To keep you consistently inspired, writing, and honing your craft, and to keep you engaged in a passionate poetic community, this month-long workshop series is aimed at helping you see your poems in a new light, broadening your vision, and improving your mechanics. Topics likely to arise include syntax, lineation, sound and rhythm, tone and mood, use of imagery, balancing the personal and universal, and other rhetorical strategies.
We will meet in a small, intimate, trusting group in which we can be honest and supportive of each other’s work. Each poet will compose one new poem each week, and we will start each session by reading and lightly critiquing it as a group. You will also receive intensive written feedback on each poem from me prior to the session. We will then move on to mini-lessons, fresh prompts, and hopefully some writing time!
Each week you will receive an inspiring seed idea designed to trigger the creation of a poem, share ideas about the process of writing poetry, workshop one of your poems, and receive feedback from the workshop group. Then, at the end of the week, I will give you a detailed response to your poem – with praise for the places where your poem is evocative and powerful, along with suggestions for revision where the poem has not reached its full potential. My goal is to give you a deeper understanding of poetry, a deeper love of language, and a stronger mastery of the techniques which make a modern poem work. I look forward to being a catalyst to help you take the next step in your writing!