Diving Deep and Surfacing: A Poetry Workshop
Writing Workshop in New Jersey
January 15-18, 2027
Led by Jan Beatty
How do we access the underground rivers of meaning, the subjects that really matter to us? How do we create urgency in a poem without spelling things out? By focusing on word choice, compression and the line, we’ll conjure energy and power in the body of the poem. Through writing prompts and the work of other writers, we’ll dive deep, cutting excess words and gaining the vitality of suspension, mystery, and colliding images. We’ll share our writing in a welcoming and supportive space as we receive constructive feedback. Feel free to bring drafts or fragments of poems, or start something new. This workshop is open to writers of all levels.
*Limited to just 10 participants.*
“Hands down, the best writing workshop in the region. The kindness is palpable, the faculty are first-rate, and the work is intense in the best possible way.”
~Pat, Crisfield, MD
Jan Beatty
Jan Beatty’s work has been published in the Atlantic, New York Times Sunday Magazine, and Best American Poetry. In 2024, her eighth book, Dragstripping, was published by University of Pittsburgh Press. She was recently featured in POETRY, and her poem, Stripshot, won the Editor’s Award in Copper Nickel and was named one of the best poems read in 2024 by 50 Contemporary Poets on LitHub. Beatty is the winner of the Red Hen Nonfiction Award for American Bastard, and the Paterson Prize for Jackknife: New and Selected Poems. She worked as a waitress, abortion counselor, and in maximum security prisons. She is Professor Emerita at Carlow University, where she directed creative writing, the Madwomen in the Attic workshops, and the international low-residency MFA program. Read a poem by Jan and learn more on her website.
