In Other Words: A Passager Poetry Workshop

5 sessions with Passager poets Shirley J. Brewer and David Bergman

An in-person class designed to help you explore your imagination,
surprise yourself, and polish your craft.

2:30 – 4:30 pm Saturdays April 18, 25, May 2, 9, &16

During this 5-week course, you will discuss poems by other poets
as models for your own writing, enjoy engaging in creativity exercises,
free-write from prompts, and share your own writing among peers in a
warm and supportive environment.

Join Shirley and David for creativity, craft, and community.

Note: The April 25th class will be held at the Charles Village home of David Bergman.

MATERIALS

This course uses a mix of selections by Passager writers and other poets as models for your own writing. All materials are provided.

TIME REQUIREMENTS

2 hours per week outside of class

WHO SHOULD TAKE THIS WORKSHOP?

No prior writing experience is necessary—open to anyone age 50 and older who loves to write or wants to get started. Class size is limited to 10 participants to ensure an engaging experience. 

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTORS

David Bergman is a Professor Emeritus of Towson University where he taught writing and literature for over 40 years. The author or editor of 20 books (mostly recently Plain Sight), his scholarly work has been recognized for its vigor, clarity, and humor. He is the winner of several literary awards, including the George Elliston Prize for his first book of poetry, Cracking the Code; a Lambda Literary Award for editing, Men on Men 2000; and the Passager Poet Prize in 2022. He lives quietly in Charles Village with John Lessner. 

Shirley J. Brewer serves as resident poet at Carver Center for the Arts in Towson. Her award-winning poems garnish Barrow Street, Gargoyle, Loch Raven Review, Poetry East, Tar River Poetry, among other journals and anthologies. Her poem, “My Movie Monsters,” won 3rd Prize in the Beullah Rose Poetry Contest, 2025, sponsored by Smartish Pace. Shirley’s first book of poetry, A Little Breast Music, was published by Passager in 2008. Her fifth book, Goddess of Swizzle, is forthcoming from Apprentice House in April 2026. A four-time Pushcart Prize nominee, Shirley was interviewed in January 2020 by Maryland poet laureate, Grace Cavalieri, for her long-running series “The Poet and the Poem” at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC, where Shirley’s poems are now archived and, thanks to the Lunar Codex program, are currently on the moon!! Website: shirleyjbrewer.com