It all began at a wooden table in an artist studio beside an urban creek in Traverse City, Michigan. There was red wine, enough chairs, mutual fondness. For two years, we met every Tuesday night for Poetry Boot Camp, an outgrowth of Holly Wren Spaulding’s teaching at a nearby community college, where many of her students had been asking if she would offer a complement to her popular Apprentice Poetry Workshop.

We read and discussed and wrote poems together. Manuscripts emerged and collections were published. We laughed and noticed how much happier we were, in the company of fellow poets.

Now, a dozen years into the experiment, Holly’s vision for a warm and inclusive gathering place that celebrates the imagination, offers accessible instruction on the art and craft of poetry, and deepens our humanity takes the form of a year-round poetry school, now known as Poetry Forge, serving those who seek a creative writing education outside of academia. Classes are immersive, flexible, and welcoming.

Based in southern Maine, USA, in a small wooden writing studio near the sea, our students hail from varied backgrounds, although we all seem to have discovered the power or poetry, and the importance of making space for this part of our human experience.

To date Holly has worked with thousands of writers—some of them highly accomplished, others just beginning to explore the practice of poetry—both online and in workshops and retreats in places such as Northern Michigan, New York’s Hudson Valley, and the Outer Hebrides.