Our Instructors

People need stories. They want their emotions jangled and their minds bent, their existence questioned, their reality suspended, their world taken apart and put back together again. They need us to write.

Mike is a graduate of the OSU MFA Writing Program. He writes short and long fiction, and co-facilitates Blank Pages Writing Workshops in Bend with his beautiful and gifted wife.

Carol Barrett is an interdisciplinary scholar and educator who has published two volumes of poetry, including the prize-winning collection Calling in the Bones (Ashland Poetry Press.) Carol has earned two master's degrees and two Ph.D.s - the first in Clinical Psychology and the second in Creative Writing. Her current research interest is the healing potential of poetry. She also writes creative nonfiction; Pansies was released in 2018, the first book in English about the Apostolic Lutheran community, a group of primarily Finnish descent, who forbid the practice of birth control.

A spoken word open mic night for all poets, storytellers, and writers. Everyone is welcome. Held the Third Thursday of the month in Redmond and Bend. Check the calendar for times and dates at Full Calendar - Deschutes Public Library (deschuteslibrary.org). https://www.deschuteslibrary.org/calendar/

Sarah Smith is a copywriter-turned-author who wants to make the world a lovelier place, one kissing story at a time. Her love of romance began when she was eight and she discovered her auntie's stash of romance novels. She's been hooked ever since. When she's not writing, you can find her hiking, eating chocolate, and perfecting her lumpia recipe.