The atmosphere feels charged with creative currents and a sense of adventure. Every time!
—Moira W., Poetry as Consolation
Holly put together a beautiful course with so much attention to each and every detail. The content was not overwhelming but instead rich and thought-provoking. The poems she selected were diverse and so well considered. Holly's lectures/lessons were warm and intimate and felt like visiting with a friend to discuss ideas and writing techniques. Holly has a wonderful way of reminding us that being a poet doesn’t need to be a full-time, all-consuming occupation. Instead, poetry can be found in daily life, and by simply shifting your attention in that direction, spaciousness and beauty is discovered.
—Georgia W., Oceans Without End
“I am so, so grateful for your teaching, your writing, your way of being in the world. You have helped me not just as a writer, but as a human”
Holly is as masterful a teacher as she is a poet. I have found so much richness in the rhythm, content, and support she provides in her courses. Holly's selection of poems and related provocations are brilliant and facilitate sweet and generative intimacy with the model poets and their subject matter. If you are looking to deepen your poetry practice or simply wish to enjoy support around a daily mindfulness and writing ritual, I highly recommend 21.
—Lillie W., 21 Day Poetry Challenge
I always feel you take my hand and lead me into a rich space, maybe a honeysuckle bower, where I can thrive!
—Julie F. Vessels
It is as if you are helping me to not just find my voice, but to rediscover my Self . . . Your prompts and poets of choice have served as something like a bright candle light casting its warm glow of peace and serenity upon the interior walls of the cave of my heart. I, quite simply, haven't stopped writing since the day your course began. It's such a long, long time since I have felt so alive.
—Edith O. A Secret Life
Your voice always feels like a balm, little pointers from someone who has walked the path.
—Yashasvi V., Newsletter subscriber
I have had the honour of participating in a few of Holly’s courses now. Each one of them has been filled with rich and thoughtful material. As a non academic person I have greatly appreciated Holly’s teaching style, not once have I felt out of place or like I didn’t belong. I believe in inclusive teaching and Holly offers that and more. Every time I commit to a course, I feel more grounded and alive in my practice, I feel like I have a purpose with my writing. I am grateful for teachers like Holly, who offer space for us to be our unique selves, as well as being okay with what is. If you are looking for guidance and inspiration, Holly’s work is golden.
—Jessika F. Other Doors: X Ways to Revise a Poem
“For the first time in my life I feel as though I am a writer and aspire one day to see myself as a poet.”
This class is my first time writing poetry as an adult. I appreciate all your encouragement and I think the structure of your classes are brilliant. They are set up to create a sustainable practice and to build trust in oneself. You’ve given us so many tools and options with which to play!
—Alexis G. Oceans Without End + Other Doors
I haven't written like this since college and it feels SO GOOD!
—Molly D. 21 Day Poetry Challenge
I have loved the Oceans Without End program. The wonderful lectures you gave, the centering meditation which I especially liked, and the weekly handouts with the provocations and the reflection questions, all allowed me to write at my own pace and to be nudged into writing poetry regularly again, to bring it back into the "rotation." Thank you for designing such a thoughtful program and delivering it seamlessly. I think it fits the summer season perfectly. And I'll continue to engage with the material as there is so much richness and quality there. Thank you for the curated choices. You continue to expose me to poets I wouldn't have read and I often share them with my writing students at the art center where I teach here in Connecticut.
— Nancy M., Oceans Without End
“Poetry as Consolation has made a difference in so many ways! It has gotten me writing poetry again, introduced me to so many poets I would not have met otherwise, and it has truly been a consolation during a prolonged period of isolation at home. It has also given me access to a poetry workshop on my meager, fixed income.”
One of the gifts of Slim Volumes was stability--working on the collection over time with deep attention.
—Kortney G., Slim Volumes
“I want to tell you that what you offer is a huge doorway for me. I am writing and reading much more broadly than I ever have. I am generating fodder for poems and other kinds of writing that I would not have come up with on my own. And, I am quite sure that learning from you is making me a better writing circle holder.”
I have been studying poetry with Holly for the past year. She is a knowledgeable and exacting teacher, dedicated to helping each word of a writer’s poem become the very best word, and each poem become the very best poem the writer can compose. Her poetry achieves this, too. If August, her 2017 book, is a marvel of luminosity on the page. It is the distilled essence of poetry. Profound. Beautiful. Elevating.
—Jean G. Slim Volumes
This has been a fabulous experience for me. I have appreciated all of the prompts, the poets, your social activism, the websites, podcast recommendations, and the Zoom meetings. I was especially moved and inspired by Joy Harjo’s poetry and I have purchased several of the books by authors you recommended throughout our workshop.
—Terri G., Poetry for the People: Conflict Resolution for Holy Beings
since we will always have a suffering world,
we must also always have a song.
—David Budbill, “What Issa Heard”
I've written more pages in my notebook than I ever have at a workshop, and for the first time, some of the weighty issues on my mind seem like realms to explore rather than burdens to translate. Being able to start with questions rather than a thesis/outline is freeing. Thank you for taking us through circling, and for permission to let the subconscious peek through. I'm excited about some of the things emerging. Working with you is always a pleasure.
—Kelli F., What We Must: Writing in Troubled Times
“You’ve been kind, thorough, honest, and dependable. All the qualities I look for in just about everyone and everything. I needed a crutch through this crunch and you held me up. Can’t thank you enough.”
I feel that this course has deeply altered who I am in all elements of my life. Not only as a poet, but in all areas. I am so grateful to the work done, and for how it has prepared me for the work ahead. Particularly around the art of editing and revision. I feel that my sense of how to be concise, how to give each thing I add to the work (whatever the work may be) or take away, have intention and meaning, eliminating the unnecessary, has strengthened. Faith in my work has grown. I am in love with myself and the world a little more now. And I feel less alone and lonely as a poet. Seen, and lifted up, by all of you and by your work, Holly. This time has been very deep and important for me.
—Aiyana M., A Body of Work
Holly’s feedback is always wonderful: constructive, honest, and tender all at once. Much appreciated.
—Azad A., A Body of Work
Being a new and secret poet, taking your class was both a foundation and fortress from which to work.” Brece H., Other Doors