Dec. 1st - Last Day to Register for Lit Youngstown Poetry Intensives

Lit Youngstown is offering a monthly, in-depth poetry writing workshop from January to September, 2022. Each participant will set their own goals for writing, publishing and participating in other opportunities in the literary community. Workshop leaders will offer a variety of topics and influences.

The workshops will meet from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on the second Saturday of each month (after January's session on the 15th), in Lit Youngstown's office at St. John's Episcopal Church, 323 Wick Ave. The course cost is $200 per participant; the course will run when we reach a minimum of ten participants.

Register here by December 1 to save a seat. For more info, including FAQ and presenter bios, please click here. Feel free to reach out with any other questions: LitYoungstown@gmail.com.

January 15
10-12 Morning topic: contemporary poetry books
1-4 Guest Workshop Leader Robert Miltner & Molly Fuller, on the sounds of music in poetry

February 10
10-12 Morning topic: craft books on poetry writing
1-4 Guest Workshop Leader Mary Biddinger, on inviting strangeness into your poems

March 12
10-12 Morning topic: journals, submissions
1-4 Guest Workshop Leader Steve Reese, on abstract vs. concrete in poetic language

April 9
10-12 Morning topic: chapbooks
1-4 Guest Workshop Leader Marion Boyer, on revision

May 14
10-12 Morning topic: full-length books
1-4 Guest Workshop Leader Barbara Sabol, on beginnings and endings

June 11
10-12 Morning topic: residencies, contests, retreats, conferences
1-4 Guest Workshop Leader Allison Pitinii Davis, on linebreaks

July 9
10-12 Morning topic: creating a workshop group
1-4 Guest Workshop Leader Diane Kendig, on time

August 13
10-12 Morning topic: performance reading
1-4 Guest Workshop Leader Susan Grimm, on how the poem happens: thinking about the parts and the whole

September 10
10-12 Morning topic: trade magazines
1-4 Guest Workshop Leader David Hassler, on finding the hidden energy in language

Courses

Even if you're not
in the MFA program, worry not. Cleveland's got a moderate number of places around town where a beginner can learn writing, or someone who's more adept can hone their craft or learn a new style or a new genre.

The Cleveland Literary Center-- "The Lit"-- is always one good place to look for courses. They've kicked off their fall schedule of classes and workshops, but some of their courses haven't started yet. For example, they just announced a one-day course "The Memoir & The Memoirist," with Thomas Larson, Saturday, October 31. And, in addition to their ongoing every third Friday poetry workshop (7:30pm at Mac’s Backs on Coventry), they've recently started a LIT Book Club, 4th Sundays of Every Other Month, also at Mac's Backs, and a Public Fiction Workshop With Paula McLain, on the third Thursday of every month, 6:30pm at Trinity Common. The workshops are free, by the way, if you don't have the cash, although if you do have funds, there's a suggested voluntary donation of five bucks to keep the workshops going.

Bookmark their page to keep up to date with offerings.
If you're interested in fiction, a little further west, check out "Creating Captivating Fiction: Learn to grab your reader’s attention, build narrative excitement, and finish with a dramatic climax," being offered Tuesday evenings by the Berea Community Education, taught by Mary Turzillo (who's a fiction writer, as well as a poet).

Dates: 7:00- 9:00: Six weeks: Tuesdays, starting October 13, Berea High School.
Cost: Berea residents: $66/ non-residents $71 (ask about discount for over 60)
For enrollment information, call 440 239 5909, 8 AM to 4:30 PM or fax 440 234 2309- or look on page 4 of the brochure.

That's barely even the tip of the iceberg-- I know that there are a lot more writing classes open to the public going on in the Cleveland area. If you're teaching one-- or taking one-- why not post it here and let us know?
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