Though my devotion lies firmly in the ongoing craft of creative writing—especially prose—I am equally pulled toward a parallel current: the magical, the mythical, the mysteries that lie beneath and behind our words, the deep wells from which all true creativity flows.I find myself sitting with a question that hums beneath everything I do: How do we stay connected to this flowing source—the great headwaters of our creative spirit? How do we remain tethered to ourselves as writers and to a community of kindred creatives, as together we reimagine what’s possible, story by story? In a world that feels increasingly shadowed, my course offerings emerge from a place of exploration and renewal—an act of deep internal re-membering. Just as water is our body’s first medicine, so too is the creative current the healing pulse of our psyche and soul.
As mythologist Michael Meade reminds us, we are living in the time of the Deep Self—a season for listening inward. I turn quietly toward that depth, revisiting the luminous worlds of Gabriel García Márquez, Aurora Levins Morales, Jamaica Kincaid, Toni Morrison, and Linda Hogan. I sit with the wisdom of bell hooks, Robin Wall Kimmerer, Eduardo Galeano, Gloria Anzaldúa, and James Baldwin, tracing the threads that bind spirit, story, and society. I find renewal in the poetry of Natalie Diaz, Lucille Clifton, and Aimee Nezhukumatathil. These voices, among many others, remind me how words can root, reach, and reveal—and I wonder, whose voices are guiding you now?
Throughout the year, I offer invitations to generative and inspirational spaces, to write in response to the magical and mythical—drawing from stories, poems, fables, folktales, and traditional tales. These forms become our wise and activating sources, leaping us into prose poems, fiction, and/or creative nonfiction. While craft and form are woven in to strengthen and shape, these generative spaces act as writing sanctuaries and primarily ask participants to focus on creation before judgment, a reciprocal relationship with their practice before perfection or performance for the sake of others. They serve as nourishing ground to fuel the longer projects that call to us, and to help us dwell more fully and consistently in the source of our imaginative flow. These offerings are a gift to me, helping to balance the critical and also necessary position I often occupy as editor and workshop teacher.
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I’ve gathered with devoted writers as MFA faculty at the Institute of American Indian Arts—in workshops shaped by trust and curiosity, in craft talks exploring Creative Sovereignty, the surreal and hyperreal, and the slow nourishment of a life that feeds the page. We’ve written toward what calls us, what haunts us, what won’t let us go.
I’ve taught novel writing, fiction, and creative nonfiction in spaces where stories grow wild—at the Lighthouse Writers Workshop in Denver, at The Porch in Nashville. Among the classes I’ve offered: Using the Surreal for Better Fiction, Fairytales as Foundation for Short Fiction, and Accessing the Personal Narrative Through Traditional Stories. With Emergence Magazine, I’ve led generative gatherings like Writing From the Roots and What Emerges From Stillness: Receiving Ourselves as Nature—spaces to listen, write, and begin again.
And beyond institutions, I’ve sat at tables in libraries, public classrooms, parks, and living rooms—alongside children, elders, and everyone in between. We’ve written not just to tell stories, but to return to ourselves. To notice the overlooked detail. To stitch language into meaning. To remember we are still here, still writing, still becoming.
In addition to teaching through programs and organizations, I also offer independent courses—spaces held with intention, depth, and creative rigor. These include the year-long virtual offering Headwaters of the Imagination, where writers are invited to source their work from the deeper currents of dream, memory, myth, and attention. I also lead a nine-month, in-person course rooted in close reading and creative response to Clarissa Pinkola Estés’ Women Who Run With the Wolves—a shared excavation of story, instinct, and the wild feminine voice.
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If you’re feeling the pull to reconnect with your writing—or take it somewhere new—I’d love to talk. You’re welcome to book a free 30-minute consultation so we can imagine what working together might look like. I offer both hourly and per-page rates, depending on the shape and scope of your project. If you’re gathering a small circle for a workshop, dreaming up a class series, or looking for a close, thoughtful read of your manuscript, I’d be happy to help bring that vision to life. And if your writing practice needs a little more light, structure, or steady attention, I’m here for that too—with guidance, inspiration, and accountability. Feel free to reach out if you’d like to be added to my mailing list and hear about upcoming classes, gatherings, and offerings.