Fred Marchant's statement about his workshop at The Joiner Center's Writers
Conference.

Central to my workshop is the creation of new work. I ask the participants in my workshop to write at least one new poem for each of our meetings. I promise to read that new poem (s) and return it, with response and revision suggestions, at the next meeting. Thus the participants in my workshop have the reasonable goal of writing at least five new poems during our time together. Often the given participant writes more than that minimum number, and I often get
the sense that the new work that is generated in the workshop provides the foundation for revision and other new work in the months that follow.

It is also true that I value the work the writer has done prior to the
workshop, and I am not fanatical in my definition of what constitutes a "new poem." For me a "new poem" is any poem that the writer has worked on specifically for our workshop meeting. It could be an older poem that has been revised, or it could be a fresh piece, inspired just the night before. I leave it up to the participant to judge whether the poem submitted on any given day is "new" in the several ways that word might mean.

The workshop sessions then are devoted to a group discussion of new work by each participant. My goal is that every participant will have two new poems discussed by the group during the two weeks, ideally one per week. Each workshop session also has a "craft lesson" dimension to it, usually a topic that I develop from my reading of the poems submitted to me. Topics can range from technical matters like lineation or tone or image to discussions of aesthetics or the practical aspects of the writing process, the life of the writer, and publication.

There is also an extra-curricular dimension to our workshop and my teaching. I believe in the value of individual conferences, and I try to schedule one 25 minute session with each participant, in each of the two weeks. That means we meet individually in the cafeteria and look at whatever work (old or new) the writer brings to the table. Or we meet and discuss whatever topic the writer wants to talk about. No one is required to do these individuial conferences, but most participants avail themselves of the opportunity.

In sum, I think that if a participant supplements our workshop meetings with individual conferences, and adds to that the several master classes, panels, and readings offered by the Writers Conference as a whole, I am confident that the participant will have an inspiring and extraordinarily intense two weeks of artistic creation, writing practice, and humane, helpful discussion.