Few writing programs integrate CRAFT SCHOOL’s embodied and cross-disciplinary practices such as candlelight meditations, yoga nidra sessions, and breathwork on Zoom led by  trained teachers. Writing is rooted in our unique embodiments, and CRAFT SCHOOL reflects this. Additionally, writing exists in the context of the arts as a whole, and, therefore, we will  welcome dancers, painters, musicians, sociologists, and others to converse about how writing intersects with other disciplines and the way we live our lives.

Unlike MFA-style programs, CRAFT SCHOOL embraces trauma-informed pedagogy for approaching difficult material with less risk of re-traumatization. CRAFT SCHOOL is a place for discussing writing as a practice intertwined with daily life actions that deepen curiosity and attention, such as poetry walks, list-making, ethical eavesdropping, etc. We teach craft as a healing force, including how to shape stories in ways that are powerful for readers & safe for writers. 

Many programs emphasize “supportive community.” CRAFT SCHOOL takes this further with ritualized communal practices that tether us to our work and each other, such as regular free-writes and open-mic salons, themed Mighty Network exchanges, digital campfires, and collective experiments such as collaborative writing, etc.

Many programs are loosely strung-together workshops. In contrast, CRAFT SCHOOL offers a whole-group, unifying monthly close read that creates a collective arc across the year, offering members a cumulative shared journey.

Within the larger group give all interested participants a space to discuss their individual writing and to offer trusted and skillful, craft-focused feedback to others. We’ll also pair interested writers with partners for increased accountability and, over time, the possibility of trusted readers for exchanging pages.

In our increasingly digital world, things we touch with our hands matter and hold meaning. Our postal exchanges involve letters, fragments, and artifacts mailed across the world.