Day 6 and 7 of the Martha’s Vineyard Institute of Creative Writing…teaching my Literary Publishing class, attending the closing ceremonies…then traveling home from that little island I love so much! Thank you so much to all the awesome attendees, faculty, and staff who made this MVICW 2026 such a warm and wonderful time!!!
Day 5 of the Martha’s Vineyard Institute of Creative Writing…teaching my workshops Flash Away and Welcoming Surprises, then faculty Dinner at Oak Bluff’s Black Joy Kitchen followed by the traditional late night visit to Back Door Donuts!
Day 3 of the Martha’s Vineyard Institute of Creative Writing…talking over manuscripts with writers at the Vineyard Arts Project and hearing the evening readings by the wonderful Hannah Bae and the wonderful Jackson Brown!
Oh, just 3 alumni from Indiana University’s MFA in Creative Writing strolling along the night-time docks in Edgartown on Martha’s Vineyard: Alexander Weinstein, Jackson Brown, and yours truly!
Day 2 of the Martha’s Vineyard Institute of Creative Writing…exploring Edgartown, then giving my poetry reading tonight alongside the wonderful Vogue Robinson!
Hot golly! I’m teaching in Greece again this September…and you should join us! Register by April 10 to receive special grant pricing at https://www.mvicw.com/greece
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Write in paradise this September! MVICW’s Freeing The Muse Retreat is returning for our second year at the Ionian Center for the Arts & Culture on the Greek Island of Kefalonia!
Silence your Inner Critic and let your creativity flow on the beautiful island of Kefalonia. Work with award-winning authors and poets, enjoy home-cooked Greek meals, and go on outings to caves, castles, and beautiful beaches! Join us this fall and dive into your writing and creativity with a deeply nurturing community.
The single most important teacher in my life (and I’ve had a bunch of great ones) has died. I’m gutted to hear that Wayne Dodd, my first poetry teacher, has passed. I entered his poetry workshops at Ohio University as a freshman, in love with writing poetry, but unaware that anyone had written poetry since the Beats. I took every poetry workshop he offered until there were no more to take. Every afternoon in his class, staring out at the sycamores from the upper floors of Ellis Hall, my mind was blown and the boundaries of my heart were enlarged. I’d never had a teacher like Wayne before, and I’ve never had one like him since. He introduced me to the poets whose work guided my life, both in poetry and in just, like, life. His teaching literally changed my life. And today, over 30 years later, every time I teach things that Wayne taught me about poetry come out in what I give my students. Those golden hours in his classroom are never far from my mind. RIP dear dear Wayne Dodd. A poet and teacher.
In the Landscape of Contemporary Poetry. Wednesdays, 6:00-8:00 p.m. ET. 6 weeks, starting December 3 (skipping December 24 and 31). We’ll read recently published poetry from literary journals and books, generate new poems with the help of prompts that I create, and spend the bulk of each class in a fun, inspiring poetry workshop. In this course participants will write and receive workshop comments on five original poems. Writers at all levels are welcome. I teach In the Landscape of Contemporary Poetry often, and every time the readings are all new, so you can take it again and again!
Participants will receive:
This is a live online writing workshop. Registered participants will receive a Zoom link prior to the beginning of classes. Registration will close when full (12 students). The class requires a minimum of 6 registered participants. Register early, as spots fill quickly.
Registration fee: $275
Registration deadline: Sunday November 30
Class begins: Wednesday December 3
Click here to register by credit card: https://square.link/u/MUWXeJMq
What a joy to spend this morning Zoom-visiting John Howard’s Studies in Nonfiction class, where they have been reading and responding to my lyric essay “What You’re Thinking Now Is a Chunk of Marble” published in the Southeast Review. Thank you to John and his students for their insights and generosity!
The Southeast Review has made the entire essay available to read online:
https://www.southeastreview.org/single-post/38-2-christopher-citro
And so ends another nourishing, inspiring week teaching at Paul Smith’s College, with the celebration readings at the Forestry Cabin. Kettle Pond Writers’ Conference!?! Ya’ did it again! Thank you everyone for making that week so magical!
