Testimonials

"Larissa Shmailo is a true warrior of the written/spoken word, as her life and work ignites her. What an honor to be one of her students! Her class is generative and I produced some pieces that were published quickly. We did in-class exercises and read our work aloud. Got excellent feedback from her, as well as the other students. If you get a chance to take Shmailo’s class, jump on it. She is a gift to the writing community. WOW!"

—Meg Tuite, author of five short story collections, two poetry collections, and published in numerous literary magazines, as well as anthologies.

“This course created the space and structure in my life to make writing a regular part of my day. Larissa’s excellent exercises and insightful feedback served as the basis for rich class discussions and workshops. I felt connected to my classmates and found myself feeling at home among them— a rare treasure for such a compact time frame and over Zoom. I would highly recommend this course to any writer who wants to get back on track but is struggling to enact this desire day to day.”

— Anna Fridlis, writing instructor, Parsons School of Design

“I was surprised by how immediate the class was: what an immediate understandng I gained of the forms by writing in them myself, what appreciation that gave me for the examples that we read together by great poets. I was delighted by what deep, rigorous knowledge was being conveyed in such a light, concise, fun way.”

— Kate T., New York City

“After taking Larissa’s Resilience workshops, I knew she’d be the perfect leader for learning formal poetry—I feel completely secure in her workshops. She’s a cheerleader with equal measures of patience, openness, commitment and flexibility. After attempting to learn and count feet on my own—let alone applying them to complex forms—I gave up. Between her personality and approach, I finally can strike off writing sonnets, villanelles, and the like, from my bucket list.“  

—Donna C., New England

“I had no idea I was a natural poet until Larissa brought it out of me! Unfortunately I’d been fearful of more heart-felt creativity for years, while I would grind away at copywriting for a marketing company — and then one day something sparked me to give her class a try. She has an innate gift for nurturing hidden talent, and is so soothing and gentle that I didn’t have any opportunity to fret or “think” about any of my inhibitions — and voila! I became a true poet just like that! Memories of her class lingered for weeks, and I would feel it beautifully in my soul every time.

— Mark D., Minneapolis

CELEBRATIONS!

  • Martha Kaplan's poetry collection, Wind Eyes, will be published by MadHat in 2024.

  • Elizabeth Morse's poetry and short fiction has been widely published, including in First Literary Review - East; Bluepepper, Litbreak, Bright Flash Literary Review, and Scoundrel Time, among many others.

  • Cynthia Lee Steele's memoir, 30 Before 13, is in final editing stage. 

  • Audrey Roth is  working on a spiritual collection of Jewish poetry.