Fall 2025
AMHERST WRITERS & ARTISTS (AWA) ONLINE RETREAT
The Element of Surprise: Experimenting with Structure and Point of View
I invite you to come to the session with a spirit of inventiveness and a piece of your work that you’re willing to resculpt like a piece of clay. It may be a poem, a few paragraphs of prose, or a scene—nothing longer than two typed pages in length. We may also generate some new writing. Using a series of prompts, we’ll play with the material and, ideally, surprise ourselves and our readers.
Saturday, October 4, 4:00-5:30 ET, on Zoom
NOTE: This is part of AWA’s online retreat, October 3-5, open to writer members and writers at large. The theme is Staying With the Words: Writing as Witness. The Early Bird price is $99 for Affiliates and Writer Members (you can join for just $5/month) and $149 for everyone else. After September 15, the prices go up to $149/$199. The discounts provide a reasonable way to do a lot of writing in a short time. There are also how-to panels on AI, the creation of chapbooks, and more. Hope to see some of you there! Click here for details and registration
MONTCLAIR ADULT SCHOOL
Locations: Montclair, NJ Public Libraries as noted below (main branch at 50 South Fullerton Avenue or Bellevue branch at 185 Bellevue Avenue)
Registration opens September 2 at https://asm.augusoft.net/ (search on the class title or my name)
Breaking Writer’s Block
Do you have a writing idea that’s struggling to get out? Has a project stalled partway through and now needs a jump start? Through a mix of exercises and supportive discussion, we’ll help each other break through typical blocks and move ahead.
September 25, 6:15-8:15pm
Bellevue branch
Tuition $35 (less for Montclair residents)
NEW
Memoir: Alternative Structures
Chronology isn’t the only way to structure your life story. We’ll look at different approaches, such as hybrid, thematic, and “slice of life.” In-class exercises will help you develop a table of contents, a title, new material, and ideas for connecting fragments you may already written.
Oct 21, Oct 28, Nov 4, 2:00 to 4:00 p.m.
Main branch, second floor tower room
Tuition $65 (less for Montclair residents)
NEW
M*A*S*H Deep Dive: Spotlight on Margaret
Return to one of TV’s true classics with a salute to Margaret Houlihan, the character created by the late Loretta Swit. In each class we’ll watch and discuss two key episodes, tracing the evolution of the show’s only female lead from “Hot Lips” to respected team leader. (Not a writing class.)
Oct 21, Oct 28, Nov 4, 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Main branch, first floor media room
Tuition $45 (less for Montclair residents)