Here’s What Matters: Starting a Memoir

with Jack Ridl

June 7, 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.

Tuition: $200

Materials Fee: N/A

Participants will spend the day exploring, through their preferred form of writing, the things that have profoundly impacted their own lives—whether they are funny, traumatic, serious, sorrowful, or joyous– and turn these stories into the beginnings of a memoir. Using Jack’s suggestions, writers will first talk with one another about what subject they have chosen then, they will have time to explore that choice in writing, after which the group will engage in a delightful debriefing about what showed up as they wrote, culminating in a deeply memorable day.

Plan to bring: Writing utensils and paper or notebook and memorable tokens from your life that may inspire writing.

Jack Ridl, Poet Laureate of Douglas, Michigan, is the author of All At Once (CavanKerry Press), Saint Peter and the Goldfinch (Wayne State University Press), and several other books. His Practicing to Walk Like a Heron was co-recipient of the National Gold Medal for Best Collection of Poetry by ForeWord Reviews. His collection Broken Symmetry was co-recipient of The Society of Midland Authors best book of poetry award for 2006. Then Poet Laureate Billy Collins selected his Against Elegies for The Center for Book Arts Chapbook Award. Individual poems have been published in The Georgia Review, Poetry, Colorado Review, Rattle, North American Review, Prairie Schooner, Field, Poetry East, and elsewhere. The students at Hope College named him both their Outstanding Professor and their Favorite Professor, and in 1996 The Carnegie Foundation named him Michigan Professor of the Year. More than 85 of Jack’s students have earned their MFA degree and over 100 are published. Every Thursday Jack hosts and posts on YouTube “The Sentimentalist.” Poetry and Song: A Concert with Carrie Newcomer and Jack Ridl is also available on YouTube. For further information about Jack, his website is www.ridl.com.

New Beginnings in Writing

with Jack Ridl

June 21, 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.

Tuition: $200

Materials Fee: N/A

Jack believes that making art and writing brings about realizations and valuable experiences that can happen no other way. With decades of experience in “de-threatening” the art-making process this workshop offers that for participants. He hopes that you will leave at home any notions of departing Ox-Bow with something completed; instead, he will encourage you to start many things—written pieces, creative notions, seeds of ideas. He strives to create an instant community where conversation throughout the day is stimulating, a joy, and worthwhile.

Plan to bring: Writing utensils and paper or notebook and memorable tokens from your life that may inspire writing and collaboration.

Jack Ridl, Poet Laureate of Douglas, Michigan, is the author of All At Once (CavanKerry Press), Saint Peter and the Goldfinch (Wayne State University Press), and several other books. His Practicing to Walk Like a Heron was co-recipient of the National Gold Medal for Best Collection of Poetry by ForeWord Reviews. His collection Broken Symmetry was co-recipient of The Society of Midland Authors best book of poetry award for 2006. Then Poet Laureate Billy Collins selected his Against Elegies for The Center for Book Arts Chapbook Award. Individual poems have been published in The Georgia Review, Poetry, Colorado Review, Rattle, North American Review, Prairie Schooner, Field, Poetry East, and elsewhere. The students at Hope College named him both their Outstanding Professor and their Favorite Professor, and in 1996 The Carnegie Foundation named him Michigan Professor of the Year. More than 85 of Jack’s students have earned their MFA degree and over 100 are published. Every Thursday Jack hosts and posts on YouTube “The Sentimentalist.” Poetry and Song: A Concert with Carrie Newcomer and Jack Ridl is also available on YouTube. For further information about Jack, his website is www.ridl.com.

Nature Writing and Somatic Practices

with Shanley Poole

July 5, 3:00–6:00 p.m.

Tuition: $100

Materials Fee: N/A

Students will learn to create nature-inspired poems by tuning into their bodies and the natural world under the instruction of poet and certified master naturalist, Shanley Poole. Techniques demonstrated will include poem scaffolding, "stealing like an artist," and somatic journaling. The class will flow through guided meditations, writing exercises, and opportunities for participants to share work if desired. We’ll take inspiration from writers such as Ada Limón, George Ella Lyon, Mary Oliver, and Annie Woodford. 

Plan to bring: Weather-appropriate clothing and writing materials.

Shanley Poole, born and raised in West Michigan, is an MFA candidate at UNC-Greensboro. She has taught both writing and nature-based workshops along Lake Michigan’s shorelines. Her work can be found in Burnaway, the Underground Journal, and the Mangrove Journal. She was a 2017 fellow at the Beargrass Writing Retreat, a 2024 writer-in-residence at Azule Residency, and is the current Engagement Liaison & Storyteller at Ox-Bow School of Art & Artists’ Residency.

Here’s What Matters: Starting a Memoir

with Jack Ridl

September 13, 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.

Tuition: $200

Materials Fee: N/A

Participants will spend the day exploring, through their preferred form of writing, the things that have profoundly impacted their own lives—whether they are funny, traumatic, serious, sorrowful, or joyous—and turn these stories into the beginnings of a memoir. Using Jack’s suggestions, writers will first talk with one another about what subject they have chosen then, they will have time to explore that choice in writing, after which the group will engage in a delightful debriefing about what showed up as they wrote, culminating in a deeply memorable day.

Plan to bring: Writing utensils and paper or notebook and memorable tokens from your life that may inspire writing.

Jack Ridl, Poet Laureate of Douglas, Michigan, is the author of All At Once (CavanKerry Press), Saint Peter and the Goldfinch (Wayne State University Press), and several other books. His Practicing to Walk Like a Heron was co-recipient of the National Gold Medal for Best Collection of Poetry by ForeWord Reviews. His collection Broken Symmetry was co-recipient of The Society of Midland Authors best book of poetry award for 2006. Then Poet Laureate Billy Collins selected his Against Elegies for The Center for Book Arts Chapbook Award. Individual poems have been published in The Georgia Review, Poetry, Colorado Review, Rattle, North American Review, Prairie Schooner, Field, Poetry East, and elsewhere. The students at Hope College named him both their Outstanding Professor and their Favorite Professor, and in 1996 The Carnegie Foundation named him Michigan Professor of the Year. More than 85 of Jack’s students have earned their MFA degree and over 100 are published. Every Thursday Jack hosts and posts on YouTube “The Sentimentalist.” Poetry and Song: A Concert with Carrie Newcomer and Jack Ridl is also available on YouTube. For further information about Jack, his website is www.ridl.com.