Poetry Course Participant Testimonials

Below are comments written by members of past classes. View and register for upcoming courses HERE.

“This class was a highlight of my summer. After many years of creative stagnation, this class helped me re-enter a writing routine. The readings, writing exercises, and class discussions were skillfully organized and facilitated, and every week I left class feeling inspired, energized and motivated to continue my poetry practice.” —"Contemporary Poetry: Reading + Practice" participant

“I love the way Emily incorporates Zoom into the class in a way that is generative and engaging rather than draining and alienating. I love her openness and curiosity when going over the readings or our work together.” —"Contemporary Poetry: Reading + Practice" participant

“The breadth and depth of this course exceeded my expectations. Watching Emily deftly facilitate the group process and her openheartedness made me feel very held and happy. I felt that I carried each session with me through the week. Each writing prompt felt like a gem. I loved keeping them in my head all week, on the subway, at work, going to sleep, listening to conversations. The readings felt abundant and compelling. I also cherished hearing Emily speak aloud her favorite poems and how she lingered over them. They came alive to me. Having the chat transcripts felt like a special treat. Like a party favor!” —”Contemporary Poetry: Reading + Practice" participant

"I really appreciated how Emily allowed us to invite all of ourselves. The reading was engaging, rigorous but not too much, and carefully considered. Beautifully written prompts that I will continue to return to. The prompts also taught me how to prompt myself imaginatively. I feel safe and free to experiment in Emily’s classes. She creates a supportive and inspiring class dynamic ... these poetry classes really do make a difference—brought a lot of joy and connection and exciting study to my life." —"Choosing Poetry" participant

"Emily is a gifted teacher—highly sensitive to the needs of each student—but beyond that it feels like she is creating something larger, that she's tapping into some special alchemy a workshop can have at its best that is both the sum of its parts and also grander." —"Active Listening" participant

“The community the class built felt really special to me, which is something that I haven't experienced much on Zoom! The combo of writing in class as well as writing outside of class was really generative. It took the pressure off of ‘writing’ and needing to be pristine or precious about my writing.” —"Contemporary Poetry: Reading & Practice" participant

“I particularly enjoyed the format of the course—and found the combination of honing in on a particular poet each week and then using that poet's style and techniques as a writing prompt to be quite effective. The balance between robust discussion and then workshopping in smaller groups was perfect.” —"Contemporary Poetry: Reading & Practice" participant

"I found the reading assignments and workshopping to be fun and exacting. Incredibly valuable experience! I found Emily's feedback encouraging and exciting! I felt that she read my work very thoroughly and I am grateful for that. I also felt that each member of the workshop was really generous in how much they inspected my work and the work of my peers." —"Choosing Poetry" participant

“Emily encouraged an atmosphere of respect by being respectful. She pushed us further than we thought we could go and did so with humor and compassion.” —”Living in Long Poems” participant

“Emily encouraged us to take cues from our environments in order to approach writing a poem with new openness. I feel like I've been opened up and will continue to use the exercises from class to make poems in the future.” —”Active Listening” participant

“I didn't expect to feel so listened to by my instructor! Really felt like Emily gave us a perfect amount of space to grow and learn. Her exercises were amazing and generative.” —“Short Poems” participant

“Emily is an especially sensitive and keen reader and I found her comments opened up possibilities I hadn't considered … the combination of the readings and reading discussion encouraged a deeper dive into material that was surprising and exciting.” —”Active Listening” participant