JoAnn Early Macken

I love to help students write poetry! I received the Barbara Juster Esbensen 2000 Poetry Teaching Award for my work with a third grade class.

I can also speak about revising, writing nonfiction, writing biographies, and bringing writing to life by using details from the writer's experience.

Each program described below can be tailored to a specific theme or audience. Contact me for details or suggestions.

This writing workshop lasts at least 90 minutes. It is intended for a class-sized group. Each participant writes a draft of a poem in five steps:

• Finding Ideas
• Adding Imagery
• Using Exciting Words
• Patterns in Poetry
• Breaking the Lines

Workshops include time for writing and questions.

Advanced Poetry Workshops are also available on the following topics:

• Writing Haiku: What else counts besides syllables?
• Writing Limericks: Fun with rhythm and rhyme
• Writing Rhyming Poems: What to watch when rhyming
• Writing Shape Poems: Finding a topic, forming the shape

This discussion is suitable for larger and younger groups. It lasts about 30-45 minutes. The topics include Form, Patterns, Language, Imagery, and Ideas.

My standard daily rate is $850 for up to three presentations plus travel and accommodations if necessary.

For scheduling or fee information for other daily plans, please e-mail me with details about your program needs.

• my experiences in writing for educational publishers

• contact information for educational publishers and book developers

• tips from an editor's point of view

April 2004, New England SCBWI conference, Nashua, NH

March 2004, SCBWI-Illinois, Chicago

October 2003, SCBWI-Wisconsin fall retreat

SCBWI-Wisconsin Fall Retreat 2002

Finding inspiration in everyday life

Great Lakes Writers' Workshop keynote, June 2003, Alverno College, Milwaukee

Any of the school and library programs above can be tailored for adult writers.

Contact me for ideas!

See my schedule on the News page.

Click here to find out about my talks for
adult writers.

"Because of you, I now know how to write a real poem."

"Poetry is difficult, but you made it seem easy!"

"Thanks to you, I think I wrote a wonderful poem."

"You made it fun. . . . You are truly inspirational. You inspire me. Thank you."

"I learned many new techniques today and they will help me a lot in life."

"The best part was writing the poems."

"I never thought poetry was that cool until today."

"Thank you for the wonderful day."

"Super ideas! Lots of great resources."

"The information will be helpful as I teach my poetry unit."

"The information was priceless . . . all around, a great presentation."