TEACHING – 2017 classes/workshops
Write on the Sound Writers’ Conference, Oct. 5-7
The Profile Essay as Genre—Telling Other People’s Stories [Nonfiction – All Levels]
There is quite a market for profile essays—a subgenre of literary nonfiction centering on a certain person, place or thing. This session will explore various forms of profiles, craft elements, and publication possibilities, drawing on Iris’s experience as the author of two books in this genre.
Recent classes/workshops:
Journaling as Meditation:
From the Blank Page to the Divine
October 28-30, 2016, Ben Lomond, CA
An introduction to journaling as a spiritual practice combined with making a hand-bound journal.
The Writer’s Journal: Containing Our Stories
The Writer’s Journal: Containing Our Stories is an original workshop influenced by the work of Pat Schneider, James Pennebaker, Louise DeSalvo, John Fox and others. It is designed to provide a safe and supportive container for your personal growth work. Iris offers this 2-day workshop in partnership with fellow writer, Deborah Nedelman, MFA, PhD.
Research in the field of narrative medicine points to the impact of the stories we tell ourselves and others about the events in our own lives. We can limit our personal growth when we fail to examine the reasons we have framed our stories as we have. In this workshop you’ll create a physical container for your writing—a hand-made journal—and in the process, the actions of bookbinding will become metaphors for the ways our personal stories impact our lives. We will write together as we explore new ways of looking at our old stories.
At the end of this session, you’ll leave with a beautiful journal of your own creation, the work you’ve written throughout the workshop, a method that you can use to further your growth, and a connection to a supportive community as you move forward.
Co-facilitator Deborah Nedelman is a published author, teacher, editor, and a Certified Amherst Writers and Artists Group Leader. She has written both fiction and non-fiction, and her work can be seen at Soundview Writers. Deborah holds a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology and an MFA from the Whidbey Writers Workshop of the Northwest Institute of Literary Arts.
Write to Heal –
Writer and psychologist Deborah Nedelman and Iris combine their years of experience as writers and healers to offer this day in which participants create their own handmade journals and practice writing techniques designed to foster healing of both body and spirit.
Inspiration and Perspiration: How Writers Start and Keep Going
For many writers, starting the pen (or keys) moving is the hardest task. And even for those who make it to the desk, keeping at it—day after day, year after year—can be a challenge, too. We’ll have fun exploring sources of inspiration and techniques to persevere.
- Discover tools and techniques to inspire and sustain your writing
- Learn how to put your internal critic to work for you
- Identify your own sources of perseverance.
MORE TEACHING
Iris is available to teach at conferences and community classes; she also offers private consultation about writing. Here are some of her favorite courses:
- Turning Memory Into Memoir
- Build Your Lyrical Muscles – Poetic Devices for Prose Writers
- Inspiration and Perspiration – How Writers Start and Keep Going
- Writing About Faith
- Journaling as a Spiritual Practice (includes learning to make a hand-bound journal)
- Creating an Online Presence to Invigorate Your Writing Life.
EDITING/PUBLISHING
From 2012-2015, Iris served on the editorial team of Soundings Review (the literary magazine of Northwest Institute of Literary Arts), first as Nonfiction Assistant Editor and then as Nonfiction Editor. She is the publisher of SHARK REEF, an online literary magazine launched in 2001. Iris also independently published her first book, Hands at Work.
Please contact Iris for more information about her availability for teaching, editing, or publishing.
