Cassidy is a generous, insightful workshop leader who supports writers at every stage of their craft. She creates a welcoming, safe environment where I felt comfortable taking creative risks and growing as a poet alongside my peers. Whether you’re just starting out or have several books published, I highly recommend taking her workshops!
-Loch Baillie, author of River Running
I had the good fortune to both take a poetry class with Cassidy and benefit from her editing services. Cassidy’s poetry class was exactly what I needed to begin writing poetry again and find joy in it. We looked at a variety of poetry and techniques, and I left the class brimming with ideas. As an editor, Cassidy has a keen eye. Writers always need other writers who understand craft well to read their work and provide feedback, and Cassidy is masterful at the craft of writing. With her help, I was able to take a story that struggled with its emotional centre and cut it down to be concise and sharp.
-Tanisha Khan, University of Oregon MFA graduate
My generative poetry class is an 8-week course for poets of all levels, and includes discussion of contemporary poets and a ton of writing prompts, with opportunities for sharing work in a supportive environment. This class is capped at 12 participants.
My intermediate poetry workshop is for poets with a body of work they would like feedback on (roughly 10-15 pages) in an engaged and supportive environment. Each poet is workshopped twice, so we get to know each other’s work and poetics. This class is capped at 8 participants.
Both workshops include discussion on areas of professionalization such as submitting to literary journals, applying for grants, as well as an optional WhatsApp group to stay in touch during and after the course. This is pro-Palestine space and both classes will include discussion on how we can response to Israel’s genocide in Gaza, both on the page and off, with readings by Palestinian poets and thinkers.
Sliding scale and scholarships for BIPOC poets are available for each course. To apply for the scholarship, email a little about your writing practice, why you want to take the class, and a 5-page sample to mcfadzeancassidy@gmail.com
To register for either class, please send a $100 e-transfer to secure your spot. If we haven’t worked together before, send a 5-page sample of your writing and a little about yourself to mcfadzeancassidy@gmail.com.
FAQs
How will workshop be run?
I strive to make workshop a supportive environment, mainly through the use of critical response process instead of the traditional workshop model. This means each poet can determine the kind of feedback they want, with the instructor taking on more of a facilitating role. Sometimes this involves providing general impressions to a new project, answering specific questions the poet might have, or offering suggestions to places where the poet might feel “stuck”.
Ideally, the poet leaves workshop feeling inspired, supported, and with a clearer sense of where to take their draft next. I’m always happy to answer follow-up questions and share resources on publication, mentorship, and other professional development opportunities.
What is your mentoring philosophy?
My goal is to meet each piece on its own terms to help writers develop the unique value of their voices, and to offer ideas for forms, modes, and traditions they may be interesting in exploring further. This might mean making suggestions for word choice, syntax, and musicality in an individual poem, to making overarching suggestions for form and narrative in a book-length project. As the former editor-in-chief of The Brooklyn Review, I have a wealth of publishing knowledge and I am eager to share resources on submitting to literary journals, applying for artist grants, and other opportunities. I aim to guide writers discover the creative impulse that drives their work, and to liven what is already present in their writing.
Cassidy McFadzean 