Teaching

I have been teaching creative writing and/or running writing workshops for over 28 years. I taught for three years at Long Island University, Southampton Campus, in the Continuing Education Department, where I started their first creative writing workshop. While at Southampton, I also produced a literary magazine, 239 Montauk, as a showcase for students’ work that was published by Long Island University.

I was a Taproot leader, meeting at the John Jermain Library in Sag Harbor, then at The Hampton Library in Bridgehampton for several years. I met with groups of talented senior citizens who wanted to write about their lives. The Taproot organization offers classes on Long Island, New York City and in Connecticut and publishes a yearly journal “for older writers.”

I ran a popular creative writing course in fiction and non-fiction at Suffolk County Community College every spring and fall for over 17 years. Held at the main campus in Selden on Saturday afternoons, the class attracts students from all over eastern and western Suffolk.

I have conducted workshops in creative writing, memoir writing, humor and journal writing at libraries throughout Suffolk County and at writing conferences in New York, California and Mexico. I ran memoir and personal essay workshops year round at the Connetquot Library in Bohemia for almost ten years and currently teach six-week series I memoir writing four times a year at the Hampton Library in Bridgehampton.

My students are publishing their work, and some are now running writing workshops on their own. My quarterly Newsletter, sent to hundreds of people and published here on my website, acknowledges past and present students’ accomplishments. Many have stayed in touch over the years, which is very gratifying to me.

Teaching is a joy, and it enables me to interact with so many people who read and write for pleasure. It’s a continual learning process for me and for my students, and I doubt that I’ll ever tire of it.

Please see my Home Page for my upcoming teaching schedule.