Instructors

Dedicated to advancing the craft of writing in the lower Hudson area on many levels. I’ve taken several poetry workshops, e.g., one from Patricia Smith a few years back, who is the recent winner of a $100,000 poetry prize and a four time National Poetry Slam champion.

I think places like the Writers Center are very rare. There’s a place I go in downtown Manhattan for writers, and they have workshops and things. Compared to Westchester, it looks like graduate-student housing. It’s very bare-bones. The Writers Center is such a serene space, like a sanctuary. And the audience is very well-read. I’m really envious, frankly.

Teaching there is a dream for a poet. Interesting, talented people find their way to the Writers Center.

As sources of inspiration go, the Hudson Valley Writers Center is right up there. Housed in the former Philipse Manor train station with a great view of the Hudson River, the center offers no lack of things to write about. Want to put your characters on a train? One will be through regularly. A boat? The river’s right there. So, too, is the bridge. There’s also strength in numbers, writers gathering to collaborate and raise their games.

With its array of readings, courses, workshops, and other programs, the Hudson Valley Writers Center presides over a great river of language, imagination, and heart. It makes an absolutely necessary contribution to the entire region’s life and letters.

I loved writing fiction and comedy because I like making people laugh… Thanks Joan for being kind to us.

Reading and teaching in the Philipse Manor space is like being part of a site-specific literary art installation. Inside the restored railway station, there’s a kind of emotional locomotion that takes place as poets share work, steps away from passing passenger cars we watch as they gently hum by. 

When I first started Susan Hodara’s memoir class, I thought I knew what I wanted to write about. Through the writing process and insights from Susan and the other writers, over many weeks, I realized that my story was really about something else-a difficult chapter in my early childhood. That was the beginning of my memoir. I would not have had the courage to explore this terrain without the support, encouragement and feedback from Susan and the thoughtful and talented writers that she attracts to HVWC.

Memoir’s vulnerable subject matter requires a sensitive critique while still fully addressing the writing issues. I find Susan masterful.

I see measurable growth. It feels safe.

This class far exceeded my expectations. Participating in the workshop has actually changed my life and I am well on my way to writing my first play. Bill is so encouraging that you leave class and can’t wait to start writing. Thank you to HVWC for offering this class to the community!

Carla’s class was among the best writing classes I’ve taken over the course of many years. Her combination of instruction, exercises and inspiring materials provided one of the most worthwhile classroom experiences I’d had in a long time.  She was a lovely person, her materials were fresh and relevant, and her comments were most helpful. Thank you!

It’s like going to the gym AND church for your brain.

The class offers an extremely supportive creative environment but also pushes experienced writers to produce their best work.

Enjoyed the individual focus and the extremely supportive criticism.

Four years ago, if you had told me that today I’d be writing poetry regularly, and accepted as a student into NYU’s MFA for poetry program, I wouldn’t have believed it.

We gather with the common purpose to help ourselves and each other to hone our writing projects.

This class has become a central part of my life.

Peter is the best out there if you are looking to improve your writing. He is always kind but never satisfied until you get to higher and higher levels of ability. He has a kind of genius—this ability to sense where you might want to go and yet not to push you there or even really suggest it. I have noticed that all of my workshop members have become much better—really good—writers after working with Peter for a year or two. Highly recommend to serious writers!

Peter’s course is better than an MFA in writing.

Reading and teaching in the Philipse Manor space is like being part of a site-specific literary art installation. Inside the restored railway station, there’s a kind of emotional locomotion that takes place as poets share work, steps away from passing passenger cars we watch as they gently hum by. The Hudson Valley Writers Center supports poets and cultivates an educated audience of poetry lovers, both engaged and engaging!

Teaching and reading at HVWC is not only a joy, but a light—the enthusiasm of others is contagious. 

The Center is an oasis for the beauty and power of language—a place where people come together in an intimate space to share the transformative power of words.