Working on your poetry with Richard Jeffrey Newman is as much a pleasure as it is a privilege. Lifelong master-teacher that he is, he comes to the process with a treasure-trove of guidance and information to offer, helping you to build on the unique iterations and stylistic gestures of your own work. In my case, Richard's patient, but also frank and direct tutelage played a major role in the recent acceptance of my first poetry collection—poems I had nurtured largely in a decades-long, self-imposed isolation—by an established and indeed respected publishing house. —Henry Sussman, retired professor, Comparative Literature
Working With Individuals
Regardless of who are you are or why you are writing, putting your thoughts and feelings into words for an audience other than yourself means pursuing a connection between your facility with language and the person you understand yourself to be, all within the context of the text or texts you want to produce. I’ve been helping writers of all kinds, at all levels, nurture, grow, and hone that connection for four decades. If you're looking to take your writing to the next level let's talk.
Working With Groups
Poetry workshops can be:
- Generative (focused on producing new work)
- Revision-based (focused on getting feedback on work you've already produced)
- Craft-based (focused on a particular element of form or craft)
- Purpose-based (focused on a specific, usually theme-based outcome)
The first three kinds of workshop are generally intended for people pursuing poetry as an art form in and of itself, those who see themselves as writing for a public, which can include print and/or digital publication, sharing work at an open mic, or writing occasional poems—birthday, weddings, funerals—for friends and family. The fourth kind of workshop, which I have called purpose-based, is usually intended as a way to elicit self-expression about a particular issue by anyone concerned with that issue, whether or not they are or aspire to be a poet. In 2023, for example, I completed facilitator training with the Institute for Poetic Medicine to lead poetry workshops for survivors of domestic abuse and sexual assault; and in 2013, I took part in a program called "Poetry Heals," a collaboration between the New Jersey Council for the Humanities and CavanKerry Press, publisher of my first book, The Silence Of Men. The workshop I led for Trinitas Regional Medical Center was written up in TRMC World, that hospital's newsletter. Click below to read the article.
If you or your organization is looking to run a poetry workshop in any of the four formats described above, let's talk.
What Others Are Saying
—Stephen Furlong
"Richard Jeffrey Newman has long been a writer I've admired. The Silence of Men is one of the most-treasured books in my home library. After graduate school, I've poked and prodded at my thesis - a poetry manuscript that tracks trauma and recovery. Richard, whom I eventually met through shared social media circles, was one individual I knew I wanted to talk with about my poems. His attention to detail, his awareness of narrative and structure, and his support made me feel seen in a way that urged me to keep going and not "take the easy road" for cheapened rewards. Richard knows full-well that poetry (and healing) takes time, reflection, and precision of language. I am grateful for the time and effort he invested in my poems and, as I continue to work through the poems and my life, I know that I can rely on Richard to be an ally in my quest. To this day I know I can rely on him - that, to me, is a testament to his continued support."
—Dan Fleshler
"Richard Jeffrey Newman provided invaluable assistance to me as a consultant when I hired him to help me prepare a manuscript for a poetry chapbook. He gave me wise editorial advice on specific poems and several options for organizing the poems into separate sections based on their topics. In addition, using his extensive knowledge of both literary journals and book publishers, he offered useful suggestions about where and how to submit individual poems as well the chapbook he was reviewing. I would highly recommend him."