Writing the Life Poetic

Break into Business Writing: Boost Your Income and Creativity

A Workshop with Sage Cohen and PDX Writers

Why think small (and earn small) when you can write for love AND for money--and when each type of writing can benefit the other? A day job that utilizes writing skills can be an ideal way to keep up your chops and fill your inspiration fuel tanks while making a respectable living.

 

This workshop for writers of all genres will introduce a writing for love + writing for money lifestyle mix that can help:

• Earn a solid income that funds your creative pursuits.
• Cultivate skills that benefit writing craft and business savvy.
• Equip you with publishing skills and mindset.
• Make you a great candidate for finding an agent and a publisher.
• Use your time most effectively to accomplish all of the writing (and living) that matters most to you.

Plus, it will offer all of the basics for how to get started as a copywriter--from finding clients to establishing a scope of practice to setting prices to building long-term relationships.

 

Through a series of guided exercises, you'll plant the first seeds of your copywriting future and prepare for next steps. You'll leave informed about what it takes to break into copywriting for businesses and inspired to get started.

Saturday, November 20, 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.
Cost: $40.
Location: TaborSpace, 5441 SE Belmont, Portland, Oregon
Learn more and register.

Make Your Story Sing (and Sell): a workshop with Sage Cohen and Jessica Morrell

Want to spend a delicious day at one of the most beautiful places on earth, learning how to make your language leap off the page? I'd like to spend that day with you! Let's do it.

Make Your Story Sing (and Sell)
a workshop taught by authors Sage Cohen and Jessica Morrell
The Center for Contemplative Arts, Manzanita, Oregon
October 23, 2010 -- 9:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Cost: $80

To me the greatest pleasure in writing is not what it's about but about the music the words make. ~ Truman Capote

Writers often believe that it takes a knockout plot or idea to see their work in print. Of course, what you say is important; but many writers don’t realize that how you say it matters just as much. The truth is that the beauty of your sentences and strength of your voice can help take a solid piece of writing from the slush pile to publication.

Stories are built of sentences, and sentences are built word by word. An artfully-crafted sentence can bring shivers of recognition in the reader, stir his or her emotions, build or release tension and take the action forward. When words are consciously chosen for impact, you can keep your reader on the edge of his or her seat from start to finish––whether you’re writing a personal essay, a piece of fiction or a how-to article.

Join two inspiring writing teachers and authors for a deep dive into the possibilities of language. Through a mix of writing exercises, inspiring examples, generous handouts and personal instruction, writers of all genres will learn how to make potent language choices that will bring your great ideas to life and increase your odds of publication.

Instructor Bios:

Sage Cohen is the author of Writing the Life Poetic: An Invitation to Read and Write Poetry, The Productive Writer: Tips and Tools for Writing More, Stressing Less and Creating Success (forthcoming in December 2010) and the poetry collection Like the Heart, the World.

Jessica Morrell is the author of Thanks, But This Isn’t For Us, A (Sort of) Compassionate Guide to Why Your Writing is Being Rejected; Bullies, Bastards & Bitches, How to Write the Bad Guys in Fiction; The Writer’s I Ching: Wisdom for the Creative Life, Voices from the Street; Between the Lines: Master The Subtle Elements Of Fiction Writing; and Writing Out the Storm. Find her at thewritinglifetoo.blogspot.com.

How to Enroll: Send a check for $80 to Jessica Morrell, P.O. Box 820141, Portland, OR 87282 Please include your email address and a phone number. A confirmation email will be sent when your check is received along with further instructions.

What to Bring: Please bring writing materials, two colored highlighter markers, two-three paragraphs of a writing sample, and questions about language and craft.

Study with Penelope Scambly Schott October 7-8

My very first poetry workshop in Oregon was with Penelope Scambly Schott, and it was quite an initiation to the life poetic in this incredible, literary community. She is a gorgeous poet, an engaging (and funny) teacher, and someone you'll be delighted to have spent two days with! Check out her October workshop!

* * * * *

Save October 7th and 8th (Thursday and Friday) 2010 for

          the 3nd Annual POETRY WORKSHOP IN DUFUR, OREGON
 
THE MUSIC OF SURPRISE: Writing for the Ear as well as the Eye
 
Work with sound and rhythm to make your poems fresh and unexpected. Start new poems and take old poems a step further.
 
Give yourself two days to fine tune your poetry. Come stay at the charming Balch Hotel in Dufur, Oregon, and practice a better ear for your own writing. Learn to manipulate meter and see what happens as you experiment with the flexible music of our rich English language.
 
The Music of Surprise is a two-day workshop full of sound-oriented writing prompts and radical revision of new and old material. We will spend one night (Thursday, October 7, 2010) at the hotel with no television or phones to distract us. There we will work in the beautiful parlor and in our own private rooms. On Thursday we will have lunch and dinner at the hotel plus an after-dinner reading just among ourselves followed by a brief homework assignment. Our Friday session will include breakfast and lunch.
 
The workshop will be limited to nine participants so that everyone gets time and attention. Cost for the workshop itself is $125 plus hotel and meals (both reasonable).
If you are interested, request a registration form and send two recent poems.
 
For more information, please e-mail, phone, or write to:
 
Penelope Scambly Schott at 507 NW Skyline Crest Road, Portland, Oregon 97229
            phone: 503-291-0159          e-mail: penelopeschott@comcast.net
 
Why have a workshop in Dufur?
Because it’s a quiet little town with a view of the east side of Mount Hood and a charming small hotel (www.balchhotel.com) where we won’t be thinking our ordinary thoughts. (In case you’re curious, the town is named after Andrew & Enoch Dufur who came in 1859.)
 
Where is Dufur?
From Portland, drive out through the Columbia Gorge and turn south.  Dufur is twenty minutes south of Route 84 on 197.  It’s a beautiful trip.
 
            from the east side of Portland 1 hour 45 minutes (100 miles)
            from The Dalles 20 minutes (15 miles)
            from Bend 2 hours 30 minutes (115 miles)
            from Pendleton 2 hours 20 minutes (140 miles)

            from Salem 2 hours 35 minutes (150 miles)

* * * * *

Penelope Scambly Schott is a feminist poet and former professor of English at Raritan Valley Community College and Rutgers University. She has published several books of poetry and has taught poetry writing for Thomas Edison State College. At Educational Testing Service in the 1980s she was part of the Guidance Research Group, which developed the SIGI PLUS career information system. Schott is a recipient of the 2004 Turning Point Poetry Prize, the Orphic Prize, and a fellowship from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. She now resides in Portland, Oregon. She received the 2008 Oregon Book Award in poetry for "A Is for Anne: Mistress Hutchinson Disturbs the Commonwealth".

Study with Willa Schneberg this Summer in Portland

Willa Schneberg is one of my favorite poets and people here in Portland, and I'm delighted to share with you information about upcoming classes with her:

SUMMER POETRY WORKSHOP SERIES WITH WILLA SCHNEBERG - 2010

Willa Schneberg will offer six summer workshops during July and August at her office in Portland's Pearl District. Three sessions in July and three in August. The dates are July 11, 18, 25 and August 8, 22, 29. The workshops will be held on Sundays from 1PM to 4PM, and each will encompass a different theme. In the first two thirds of each workshop, participants will have the opportunity to respond to prompts, write in a supportive group atmosphere, and share a first draft with other participants, if you so choose. During the last third, there will be time to critique poems you have previously written.  Refreshments will be served. My office is close to the streetcar, (the last stop in free-rail square), next to public parking, and air-conditioned for comfort during hot weather.

FIRST SERIES: POETRY OF THE ORDINARY (July 11)

Everything can be material for poetry. Poetry can be the opportunity to celebrate the everyday, the lived experience, and to see it anew. In this workshop we will utilize the poet’s toolbox of craft, rhythm, metaphor, image, the reimagined, the flights of fancy, focusing language like a camera lens, to see what we often overlook, take for granted- the quotidian.  We will read extraordinary poems about the ordinary, by poets such as Galway Kinnell, Jane Kenyon, and Charles Simic.

WRITING THE POLITICAL POEM (July 18)

In this workshop we will grapple with what constitutes the political poem and its sub-genre “Poetry of Witness.” How can we respond to injustice, environmental degradation, and genocide, for example, through the poem’s lyric, and not resort to polemical language? We will utilize the poetry from masters of this genre: Adrienne Rich, Denise Levertov, Martin Espada and Carolyn Forche, to guide us in this process.

MASTERING THE POETIC SEQUENCE (July 25)

The poetic sequence, or linked poems, are poems that inform each other either through content, theme, imagery, or point of view. The power of each poem is enhanced by its relationship to its sister poem like a painter working in a series. Participants will be asked to bring in a poem that can be viewed as a first link in a sequence. If you are already working on a sequence, you will add another one to the chain. We will read linked poems by Ruth Whitman, Natasha Tretheway, Peg Boyers and Rita Dove, all of whom are prominent poets in this form.

SECOND SERIES:

POETRY OF THE LIFE CYCLE (August 8)

In this workshop we will focus on poems about rites of passage and the life cycle. These might incorporate the “occasion poem” written for a wedding or a retirement. We will also reimagine the personal and not necessarily the universal moments that have marked our individual lives and consider our “first times” and “last times.” We will read poems by Robert Hass, W.S. Merwin, Marie Howe and Ellen Bass who have found inspiration in this vein.

THE POET’S PALATE  (August 22)

In this workshop, we will feed our poetic appetites, and awaken our palates on the page. We may write about the harvest, the marketplace, the sensuality of the dining experience, what we ingest, and what we imbibe. We will dine on poems of Galway Kinnell, Matthew Dickman, Paulann Petersen and Wendell Berry, and not leave hungry.

CRAFTING THE WORK POEM (August 29)

We all work at something, but the debate over what constitutes work and the role work should have in one’s life is an open question. We work, we play, we rest, and sometimes, work is play. Is the creative process work or play? We will explore our relationship to work and the work of others through the poetic objects of Clem Starck, Philip Levine, Gary Synder and John Morrison.

FEES:

Individual workshops --$40

Any three workshops - $100

Both series (all 6 workshops) -  $185

Twelve Participants Maximum

If you have any questions, or wish to reserve a place in one or more workshops, please contact Willa at info@threewayconversation.org, snowmntn@comcast.net, or phone: 503-248-4136. www.threewayconversation.org.

This is the sound of me doing nothing

A book deadline is an incredible gift of a burden: my own, invented boulder that I pushed uphill for six months before lobbing it across the ether to my beloved editor. This book (The Productive Writer: Tips and Tools for Writing More, Stressing Less and Creating Success, due out this December) has had a life of its own, possessing my (way too) early mornings and later-than-I'd-like-to-admit evenings. It has been a relationship with the possible coming into form. The tyranny and the bliss of the blank page, day after day, after day.

And in parallel, I've also been teaching two classes, working a very demanding "day" and often "night" job, dealing with some challenging family health stuff, playing with my son, walking the dogs, and occasionally showering. It's been many months since I've sat still, with unstructured thoughts pooling like fresh water into my empty hands. 

Until now.

My taxes are filed, my deluge of documents have landed in my editor's email box on-deadline, my clients have everything they were expecting today, and I am...still. Looking out a sunny window, at a tidy desk, a gigantic cat in my lap. This is the sound of me doing nothing...almost.

To celebrate, I will take a shower, let my toddler son pat me on the back (one of his latest intimacy favorites), and then eat sushi with my husband and mother in law. Later tonight, I will take a bath and contemplate how grateful I am to have spent these many months meditating (through writing) on topics that I am passionate about, so I can then share those thoughts with others.

I have learned so much about my own approach to -- and opinions about -- productivity as I've been writing. Mostly, I am simply grateful that I have kept at this writing life of mine over the years. I think that's what it all boils down to in the end: being committed enough to the word to keep moving toward it; then discovering along the way where we're headed -- and finding creative ways to get there.

Tomorrow, I'll be back at it -- I owe some big writing deliverables to some big clients -- and I'll be packing up for my reading and teaching extravaganza with the Manzanita Writers Series on Saturday. If you are in the area, it would be so much fun to see you.

Wherever you are, dear reader, I hope you will celebrate with me by taking a moment to appreciate whatever boulders you are pushing and naming the gifts they have given you. Then, I invite you to sit somewhere sunny with your hands in your lap (or on a fat cat) and listen to the sound of your own brilliance pooling in your inner ear.

Make the most of National Poetry Month!

Happy National Poetry Month! Throughout April, good folks like you and I will be coming together to celebrate poetry through readings, events, lectures, and celebrations. Whether you are a practicing poet or simply curious about the possibilities of poetry, April is an ideal time to prime your poetry pump, connect with other people who love poetry, and find fun, new ways to tune into (and write) the poetry of your life. Here are a few ideas and a bunch of free stuff I'm offering to get you going.

GET A DAILY TIP FOR CULTIVATING YOUR POETRY AND PUBLISHING PRACTICE

Every day this month, Reading Local Portland will be featuring a daily tip from yours truly about cultivating your poetic lens, lifestyle and language. You'll find tips on craft, publishing, online resources, community-building, poetry prompts and more.

TAKE THE POEM-A-DAY CHALLENGE

National Poetry Month is the perfect time to put your poetic pedal to the metal and start burning some rubber -- in the company of many thousands of other poets who are doing the same. I dare you to write -- and share -- a poem a day! Details about daily prompts and sharing your work here.

COMMIT TO YOUR CRAFT: SIGN UP FOR A POETRY CLASS

If you're ready to take your poetry to the next level, I'm ready to support you! In early May, I'll be offering Poetry for the People Levels 1 and 2. Get all the details and sign up now to reserve your place!

"Sage was able to respond to each poem (and poet) in a uniquely sensitive way, meeting the material (and its creator) exactly where it is. In other words, her responses show what living as a poet is all about. What a gift this is." -- Amanda H. 

I'll be posting student poems on my blog throughout the month to celebrate their work and their commitment to the life of poetry.

GIVE YOURSELF THE GIFT OF POETRY FOR UNDER $20!

Want a friendly, informative, fun guide to writing and publishing poetry? I've written a creative companion to take you there! Writing the Life Poetic: An Invitation to Read and Write Poetry (Writer's Digest Books, 2009). 

And for a straight-up shot of coming-of-age, on the rocks, you are invited to experience my poetry collection, Like the Heart, the World.

ATTEND MY FREE, TWO-HOUR POETRY WORKSHOP (by podcast)

On March 2, I gave a poetry workshop on The Inkwell. In this two-hour poetry workshop-meets-contemplation of the life poetic-meets interview, I covered so much poetic ground that my voice nearly gave out.

And now, you can listen any time you want -- for free. Get comfortable at your computer with a pen and paper, and join me in my longest monologue yet about how to tune into the poetry of your life (and get it down on the page).

Be prepared for five sets of poem-triggering prompts throughout the conversation to ignite your poetry pilot light -- or keep it burning bright.

RADIO INTERVIEW ABOUT THE LIFE OF POETRY

On March 30, I joined radio host Nyla Alysia on The Inkwell Radio Show to talk about the life of poetry -- writing, submitting, editing, publishing, productivity and more -- and answered listener questions on the air. You can tune in any time to the podcast archive of our conversation.

FIND THE PROSPERITY IN YOUR LIFE POETIC

I have a new article in Read Write Poem titled "Shifting Our Lens from Poverty to Prosperity." I hope you enjoy it -- and I'd love to hear your thoughts on this topic.

COME BACK AND VISIT, Y'HEAR?

I'll be posting a variety of resources, poems and more throughout the month. And I'm always happy to hear from you. Come back any time and let me know how your National Poetry Month is treating you!

Wishing you a wildly productive and prolific creative adventure this month -- and always.

Join me at the Manzanita Writers' Series on April 17 for a reading and workshop

SATURDAY, APRIL 17
A two-part workshop and a reading -- all in one, poetry-packed day

Manzanita Writers' Series
Hoffman Center
594 Laneda Avenue
Manzanita, Oregon

Poetry: From Pen to Page to Published
1:00 pm to 3:30 pm, (all ages)  // cost:  $25; $15 for students
In this two-part workshop, poets of any level will get inspired -- and get writing -- through a variety of prompts and exercises. Following a break, we'll discuss the art of successful submission for publication. Click here to register.

Sage Cohen poetry reading, followed by open mic
7:00 pm to 9:00 pm // cost: $5

Get your free, two-hour poetry workshop here!

"I am truly grateful for your giving spirit and all you do for the craft and to encourage us to grow not only in our art but towards our potential." -- JV

This afternoon, I joined the fabulous Nyla Alisia on her show, The Inkwell at blogtalkradio.

The Inkwell offers writers help and advice in taking their work from page to publication. In this two-hour poetry workshop-meets-contemplation of the life poetic-meets interview, I covered so much poetic ground that my voice nearly gave out.

And now, you can listen any time you want -- for free. Get comfortable at your computer with a pen and paper, and join me in my longest monologue yet about how to tune into the poetry of your life (and get it down on the page). Be prepared for five sets of poem-triggering prompts throughout the conversation to ignite your poetry pilot light -- or keep it burning bright.

Tune in on March 2 for my free workshop on The Inkwell (blogtalkradio)

See you in March!

Move over, melancholy winter gray. The sun is coming out, and so am I. Won't you come on out for some poetry as the lion passes the baton to the lamb?

TUESDAY, MARCH 2 from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m., PST (and available by streaming any time after)
I will be joining Nyla Alisia to discuss writing the life poetic -- and I'll be leading a free, two-hour workshop! Pull up a chair, bring your notebook, and join us!
The Inkwell, a how-to radio program on blogtalkradio

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 10, 7:00 p.m.
As the featured reader, I'll be reading poetry for an hour! I sure would love to see your smiling face at this one!
Milwaukie Poetry Series
Ledding Library Pond House
2215 SE Harrison –– across the pond from the library -- Milwaukie, Oregon

THURSDAY, MARCH 25, 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Sign up your middle-school writer for a week of writing & literary enrichment during Portland Public’s spring break! I'll be teaching a poetry session and would love to work with your young student!
The Attic: Spring Break Writing Camp for Middle Schoolers
Attic Writers' Workshop
4232 SE Hawthorne Boulevard, Portland, Oregon 97215 

SATURDAY, APRIL 17
Manzanita Writers' Series: Two workshops and a reading, all in one, poetry-packed day

Poetry ‘PlayShop’ for Kids: 10:30 am to noon // cost $15
Publishing Your Poetry (all ages): 1:00 pm to 2:30pm // cost  $25
Sage Cohen reading, followed by open mic: 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm
Hoffman Center
594 Laneda Avenue, Manzanita, Oregon