Events
REPEATED EVENTS:
The Ambassador Writing Seminars:
Begun in 2017, these 6-, 8-, or 10-session series of writing seminars in poetry or the personal essay are held weekly for 3 hours per session and took place in Andrea's home until March 2020, when COVID forced the seminar to take place via Zoom. The seminars focus on craft concepts or techniques and are limited to eight participants per series. If you are interested in being on the email list of notification of future series, please contact Andrea. Also check the calendar below for present and future offerings.
Mentorships and Critiques:
Since 1993, Andrea has worked with writers individually through specially designed mentorships that focus on a writer's particular needs and for the duration most suitable to him or her. Meetings take place via Zoom, or, if the writer lives in Portland, Oregon, in-person at Andrea's home (well, since March 2020, only via Zoom). She also critiques individual poems, essays, and collections. For more information, email Andrea.
RECENT AND FORTHCOMING EVENTS
JANURY - APRIL 2024
Wednesdays, through April 3 (9:15 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. every other week)
The Wednesday Seminar began in June 2020 and has continued ever since (with summer breaks since 2021). It is an advanced interactive class limited to eight poets who have completed both Poetry Essentials and Beyond the Essentials with Andrea--or by special permission. At each session we discuss a variety of matters of concern proposed by the participants. This is followed by an in-depth discussion of the art and craft of one or two published poem introduced by Andrea. After a short break, we discuss the poems-in-progress of four members of the seminar. All seminars taught by Andrea were conducted in her Portland, Oregon, home until the pandemic lockdown in 2020. They're now conducted via Zoom. Cost: $1,425 for sixteen sessions that span 32 weeks. Contact Andrea if you are interested in being on the waiting list for future seminars.
FEBRUARY 2024
Every Saturday, February 3 - March 23 (9:15 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Pacific Time)
Andrea will offer The Ambassador Writing Seminar Poetry Essentials (PE), which is intended for practicing poets at any stage of their development, as well as those who are not writers of poetry but are interested in understanding the craft that goes into the art. The seminar title is not meant to suggest that those who attend are beginners—PE has included poets with MFAs, as well as those who have already published poems, chapbooks, and books. Even if a person writes only occasionally, however, he or she or they must be a regular reader of contemporary poems.
Different from a workshop, this seminar is a deep exploration and discussion of concepts and techniques. Through thorough examination of masterful examples provided in the poems of others, each week we explore a single craft essential. Such investigations provide keen understanding of the ways individual techniques contribute to the making of successful poems. As the seminar continues through its eight weeks, participants increase the size of their literary toolbox, locating strategies for both the creation and revision of their own poems. Andrea provides prompts at or directly after each session based on the material we cover, and there is a general discussion of writing from prompts, though not an examination by the group of individual participant poems. Poetry Essentials is a prerequisite for other poetry offerings, including Beyond the Essentials and The Wednesday Seminar. Past participants have confirmed that they as a result of PE, they approach their writing practice with more consistent and encouraging success. PE is conducted (and recorded) via Zoom, and Andrea sends handouts (via email) prior to each session, as well as a link to the recording, which may be downloaded, after the session. The seminar is limited to twelve participants. Cost: $760. Contact Andrea at hollanderandrea@gmail.com to register or for more informaiton. WAITING LIST ONLY. Contact Andrea if you want to be on her email list for future seminars.
MARCH 2024
Tuesday, March 26, 2024 (7:00 p.m.)
Annie Bloom's Books, 7834 SW Capitol Hwy, Portland, Oregon 97219, presents a poetry reading by Andrea Hollander and Kathy Nelson. For information, click here or contact the store here.