The Barbershop Writing Group
Michael McAllister will be leading a private, eight-week writing workshop. Drawing upon his experiences as a writer, as well as his experiences with the MFA program at Columbia University, he’s focused the curriculum on the memoir and fiction genres, though other genres, and all levels of experience, are welcome. Each week we will look at an element of craft (character, theme, scene, dialogue, etc.) and discuss the work of two workshop participants in a relaxed, focused atmosphere. Part of each session will also be reserved for in-class writing exercises, or for continued writing on the participant’s project. At the end of the eight weeks, participants will have the chance to take part in a public reading at Joe’s Barbershop, in the Castro district.
Maybe you need a little more structure, or feedback for your writing, or maybe you just need the company of a few other writers now and then. Maybe you don’t even feel qualified to call yourself a writer, but you’re willing to take a risk and try to put down a story or two. Maybe you want to pursue work that will bring added meaning to your life.
If interested, please send Michael an email at thebarbershop@me.com
Workshop Details:
“Because I am in the final stages of writing my first book, I’ve decided to delay the next writing group so that I can use the time to finally wrap this thing up. The next workshop will most likely be held this winter.
However, I’ve been mulling over a temporary alternative: holding a weekly meeting where participants would only be coming together to write in class. That’s it. Just a couple of hours of quiet writing, with no expectations to read or give each other feedback. Sometimes the hardest part of writing is just making the time, and this would be one way of meeting that challenge, at least for a couple of hours a week. Since the work on my part would be far less, the fee would be much lower, around $125 or so for eight weeks, depending on rental fees for the location. IMPORTANT: This group would NOT be reading afterwards at the Barbershop Reading Series.
If this temporary alternative appeals to you, or if you’d just like to be added to the email list so you are among the first to know of the details for the next FULL-FORMAT writing group, send me an email at thebarbershop@me.com. I appreciate your interest and patience!”
- Michael McAllister
About the Instructor:
Michael McAllister, a veteran of writing workshops, completed his Master’s in Fine Arts from Columbia University, where he was awarded the Hertog Fellowship and the Dean’s Fellowship for his writing. He’s been published in various literary magazines, like The James White Review, Long Shot, Evergreen Chronicles, and Fourteen Hills. The Minnesota Center for Book Arts published a limited-edition chapbook of his poems, Jack on Jack on King on King, designed by the book artist Inge Bruggeman, in 1996. He is currently finishing a memoir, an excerpt of which appeared in the anthology From Boys to Men, from Da Capo Press, in 2006. He has authored the blog, Dogpoet.com, since 2001.
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“Michael McAllister has a natural gift for literature. He is a talented writer, a careful reader, and a sensitive listener. He puts his fellow writers at ease, and his humble, modest nature hides the fact that they are in the presence of a truly wonderful writer.”
- Brian Eule, author of Match Day: One Day and One Dramatic Year in the Lives of Three New Doctors
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“Michael McAllister is a master storyteller. He knows the grand and humble aspirations and failures of his characters, how they speak to one another, and how they move about in the world. These are the sensibilities he brings to others’ work—a sharp eye for story and a keen sense of character. But above all, he listens—to the writer’s intentions and to the work itself.”
-Miranda Weiss, author of Tide, Feather, Snow: A Life in Alaska
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Contact: thebarbershop@me.com
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