The Writers Studio

Our Hudson River Towns Workshop is an introduction to the philosophy on which The Writers Studio was founded in 1987 by Pulitzer Prize winning poet, Philip Schultz. Persona writing, a method of borrowing the voice and temperament of accomplished writers, offers writers the imaginative distance and perspective they need to overcome their negative inclinations, their fear of self-exposure and endless doubt. This method also helps writers try on different voices, or personas, to develop narrative and lyric voices to be used as a tool for unlocking one's most intimate and private stories and turning even their most difficult subject matter into inspiration for writing fiction, poetry, and creative non-fiction.

Weekly exercises based on short pieces of published work are turned into assignments designed to introduce students to various literary styles and approaches and broaden their sense of what is possible in their own work. As the student’s understanding of technique deepens so does the clarity and emotional power of the writing. Through weekly oral critiques of each student’s work by teachers, students are taught to constructively critique one another's work, a degree of attention nearly unheard of elsewhere.

This class meets at The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Hudson Valley at 2021 Albany Post Road, Croton-on-Hudson, NY 10520.

If you have questions about the class, please email Joanne Naiman at [email protected].