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Poetry Masterclass: Erasures, Insertions, Collages (virtual) with Anne Simpson

Working with various texts, we will find a way to erase, resist, or obscure other words to find the thread of a poem. Insertions will come into it too. We’ll play with other texts to find our own way, our own poems. We’ll read the work of Mary Ruefle and Layli Long Soldier, among others.

About the instructor: Anne Simpson writes fiction, poetry, and nonfiction. Among her poetry collections, Loop was awarded the Griffin Poetry Prize in 2004. Her most recent novel, Speechless, was awarded the Thomas Raddall Atlantic Fiction Award in 2021. She has mentored many writers as a writer-in-residence in libraries and universities across Canada. Currently, she is working on a new novel.

Recommended experience level: Early-career, established, and professional poets (About recommended experience levels)

Participant cap: 12

Location: Zoom

Dates of 4-week workshop: Tuesdays, Nov 4 + Nov 11 + Nov 18 + Nov 25, 2025 (7:00pm to 9:00pm Atlantic)

Registration for 2025 General Members: $189

Registration for non-members: $219 (includes discounted fall 2025 General Membership in WFNS)

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Experience Levels

The Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia (WFNS) uses the following terms to describe writers’ experience levels:

  • New writers: those with less than two years’ creative writing experience and/or no short-form publications (e.g., short stories, personal essays, or poems in literary magazines, journals, anthologies, or chapbooks).
  • Emerging writers: those with more than two years’ creative writing experience and/or numerous short-form publications.
  • Early-career authors: those with 1 or 2 book-length publications or the equivalent in book-length and short-form publications.
  • Established authors: those with 3 or 4 book-length publications.
  • Professional authors: those with 5 or more book-length publications.

Please keep in mind that each form of creative writing (fiction, nonfiction, poetry, writing for children and young adults, and others) provides you with a unique set of experiences and skills, so you might consider yourself an ‘established author’ in one form but a ‘new writer’ in another.

The “Recommended experience level” section of each workshop description refers to the above definitions. A workshop’s participants should usually have similar levels of creative writing and / or publication experience. This ensures that each participant gets value from the workshop⁠ and is presented with information, strategies, and skills that suit their career stage. 

For “intensive” and “masterclass” workshops, which provide more opportunities for peer-to-peer feedback, the recommended experience level should be followed closely.

For all other workshops, the recommended experience level is just that—a recommendation—and we encourage potential participants to follow their own judgment when registering.

If you’re uncertain of your experience level with regard to any particular workshop, please feel free to contact us at communications@writers.ns.ca