Monday, October 19, 2026

Class will meet for one session via Zoom on Monday, 5:00 PM–8:00 PM EST

Any questions about this class? Use the Chat Button to talk with us. 

The session will be recorded and available to watch after the seminar concludes.

Instructor Bio

Instructor John Sibley Williams is the author of nine poetry collections, including Scale Model of a Country at Dawn (Cider Press Review Poetry Award), The Drowning House (Elixir Press Poetry Award), As One Fire Consumes Another (Orison Poetry Prize), Skin Memory (Backwaters Prize, University of Nebraska Press), skycrape (WaterSedge Poetry Chapbook Contest), and Summon (JuxtaProse Chapbook Prize). His book Sky Burial: New & Selected Poems is forthcoming in translation from the Portuguese press do lado esquerdo. A thirty-five-time Pushcart nominee, John serves as editor of The Inflectionist Review and Poetry Editor at Kelson Books. Previous publishing credits include Best American Poetry, Yale Review, Verse Daily, North American Review, Prairie Schooner, and TriQuarterly.

Who is this class for?

This online poetry workshop is for poets interested in exploring how food can be woven into narrative, cultural, and abstract poems. Open to all levels, from emerging voices to experienced writers seeking fresh inspiration from the everyday.

What to expect:

Poetry is witness, and what better location to witness than at the kitchen table? In this creative writing workshop, you'll discover how ingredients, recipes, and rituals of honoring can serve as both celebration and meditation. Mealtimes hold us, as well as history. Every morsel is an activation process; stories have been buried within our pots and pans.

Throughout this three-hour online writing class, you'll explore how flavors serve as a platter of beginnings and endings—of relationships, cultures, identities, memory, medicine, and bodies. We will study food poems that examine our families, cultures, and sources of comfort, drawing from work by Li-Young Lee, Maxine Kumin, Chen Chen, Francine J. Harris, Galway Kinnell, Kevin Young, and other poets who illuminate the intimate relationship between eating and the soul.

This poetry writing workshop combines close reading of exemplary poems with hands-on generative exercises. Through the course workbook, you'll practice crafting narrative, abstract, and metaphorical poems, all while discovering how the little, often mundane things can be explored in deeply meaningful ways.

What are the writing goals?

In this course, students will draft at least two new poems while also engaging in a variety of short prompt-based exercises. No outside reading is required; all materials are provided through the course workbook.

Readings

All readings are provided via the course workbook and include poems by Li-Young Lee, Maxine Kumin, Chen Chen, Francine J. Harris, Galway Kinnell, Kevin Young, and others.

COURSE OUTLINE

We will study food poems exploring our families, culture, what brings us comfort, and more. We will examine work by Li-Young Lee, Maxine Kumin, Chen Chen, Francine J. Harris, Galway Kinnell, Kevin Young, and other poets who explore the intimate relationship between eating and the soul. Students will engage in prompt-based writing exercises and draft new poems.

COURSE TAKEAWAYS:

• Study diverse poetry that explores how food can be the focus of and woven into poetry to great effect
• Learn how to analyze contemporary poetry for how the little, often mundane things can be explored in deeply meaningful ways
• Learn and practice how to write narrative, abstract, and metaphorical poems
• Learn and practice how to weave your family and culture into poetry via food
• Draft at least two new poems inspired by the intimate relationship between eating and the soul

TESTIMONIALS:

“I feel so grateful to John for keeping his top-notch editing/critique and workshop rates quite affordable because it’s allowed me to make such remarkable improvements over just the last year. One major breakthrough I’ve made under his tutelage is to more keenly and instinctively write from the basis of image as opposed to the abstract questionings I would previously use to launch my poetic explorations. John’s feedback often includes suggestions for mini-exercises to help hone my weaker grasp on certain elements of craft, and his vast, wide-ranging knowledge of (and awe-inspiring passion for) all things poetry-related always ensured that there was never a shortage of new suggestions or approaches to try. John has that rare, all-inclusive teaching talent for being able to show not only the what and the why, but mostly importantly, the how. I can’t thank John enough for all his generosity with his skills and expertise. ” — Abigail Licad

“Over the past couple of years working together, I’ve found John Sibley Williams to be a careful reader/editor who is willing to push me out of longstanding habits. His critiques are straightforward, and his suggestions are clear and thought-provoking. John does not hesitate to push back strongly on pieces which are skeletal or merely musings without a center. That said he is also honest about his personal preferences. This provides room for my own instincts while alerting me to various untethered spots in the poems. I’m so grateful for John’s guidance which has deepened my thinking around process and craft.” — Greta Nintzel

“John is an exceptional teacher, poet, and editor. He expresses genuine interest in my poetry and progress as a poet, offering honest, insightful critiques and resources. I have taken his inspiring, generative workshops and received detailed feedback on individual poems as well as a thorough critique of a full-length manuscript. More than anything, John helps me deepen my understanding of my own aesthetic and draws out my poetic voice more fully.” — Sandra Fees

“I call John Sibley Williams trusted friend and reader now. When I shared my most recent manuscript with him, his responses were extremely thorough and sensitive. John deeply respected my poems and my intent, even when he had thoughtful and honest suggestions to offer. He was always cognizant of his approach versus my own, a rare gift.” — Amy Small-McKinney

“I have never received such detailed and genuine feedback of my poetry. Prompt in his turnaround and constructive at every level, John’s edits not only showed me a pathway out from the muddle I’d found myself in, but also key tactics to use in making myself a better poet. With a keen perception for theme and style, he understood completely the purpose and intended message of my manuscript. His feedback that was both holistic with a general overview and specific with line edits where needed. I will return to his editing services time and time again.” — Daniel Lassell

“I had an exceptionally positive experience working with John. He is a careful, thoughtful reader who can see what’s working well in a poem, and what needs a new approach. In my case, I had a few long poems that I could never seem to whip into shape. He helped me find the form that worked best for my material, and to find the sweet spot between providing enough information to a reader to follow along and maintaining the mystery in a poem that a reader wants to discover for themselves.” — Maximilian Heinegg

“Working with John Sibley Williams was a phenomenal experience that far exceeded my expectations. He provided nuanced readings of each one of my poems and attended to the larger themes in my collection. A generous editor, he saw what each poem was doing (or tried to do), then pinpointed ways to make it stronger. Through discerning and exacting feedback, he is also deeply respectful. His aesthetic range facilitates incisive feedback about how to maximize each poem’s effect on a potential reader. He also provided comments on my collection as a whole, including the sequencing of poems and the arc of the manuscript. In working with John, I learned so much about myself as a poet, and his feedback made me feel invigorated and ready to revise. Without a doubt, John is now one of my most important readers. I’ll definitely be sending him more work in the future!” — Shannon Winston

“For the price of a weekend writing workshop John provided personal feedback on my first collection of poems. He brought his experience, skill, and attention to each line. He helped me clarify what was working and what needed to be reworked, or cut, both on a particular and large scale. It was exactly what the book needed and well worth the price. His suggestions were insightful and improved the individual poems which made the whole collection feel ready! I highly recommend his editorial service to anyone who is preparing a manuscript.” — Twila Newey

“I met John at a time I was seeking to re-energize my poetry writing after a long hiatus. I started my collaboration with John by sending him 4 poems for his review—some new, some stuck in limbo for many years. I have found John’s review and commentary on my work to be very helpful, encouraging, and honest. He provides both big picture and detailed observations and, while my style is much different from his, I feel John respects and hears my voice. I look forward to continuing my work with him.” — Connie Soper

“I enjoyed the process and appreciate John’s careful eye. I really needed an objective viewpoint, which others hadn’t given me. John provided detailed responses and thorough line edits. He also has a great “bedside” manner, meaning that I asked for hard criticism and the truth and he provided those while being eager and encouraging, hard-nosed and exacting. I really appreciate this experience and want more of it.” — David Lohrey

“I worked with John Sibley Williams on two batches of poems and found his critique to be invaluable in my revision process. He is a very careful and thoughtful reader. He provided thorough and detailed responses to the poems as well as an overview response for each poem. He is able to critique work that is outside of his own aesthetic and his critique is offered in the spirit of making better poems. I highly recommend his services.” — Feral Willcox

PAYMENT OPTIONS:

• Instructor: John Sibley Williams
  
• Begins Monday, October 19, 2026
  
• Class will meet for one session via Zoom on Monday, 5:00 PM–8:00 PM EST
  
• Tuition is $99 USD