Craig Brandis

Teaching Fellow at the Attic Institute

Craig Brandis’s poems and reviews have been published in Oxford Magazine, Palette Poetry, Parhelion, Trampoline, American Journal of Poetry, Poetry Quarterly, Plume and elsewhere. He was co-first place winner in the 2025 Raymond Carver Writing Festival contest for poetry. He was a semi-finalist for the 2022 Berkshire prize for a first or second book, for the 2021 Frontier OPEN prize and for the 2020 Palette Poetry Emerging Poet prize. His debut collection of poems, Crying of Small Motors, was released in 2024 by Finishing Line Press.

Upcoming Classes

The Art of Prose Poetry Workshop with Craig Brandis | July 10 - Aug14 | Zoom

Reimagining Poetry Forms Workshop w Craig Brandis | Sep 18 - Oct 23 | Zoom

Craft of Poetry: Voice and Vision Workshop w Craig Brandis | Nov 6 - Dec 11 | Zoom

The Attic Experience

Claudia Savage's beginning poetry workshop was absolutely perfect. She teaches with grace and joy and, yeah, a little wild abandon. For non-poets and true poets alike, her educator-style works wonderfully. I'd take another class if offered!

Jackie Manz, participant in poetry

The Classic Book for Writers, Updated and Revised

EVERY WRITER HAS A THOUSAND FACES

"This book has been in print forever because what it offers works for people." — Chuck Palahniuk, author of Fight Club

"Finally, an anti-bullsht book on creativity!"* — James Marcus, former editor of Harper's

"Does for the creative process what Strunk and White did for our approach to grammar and style. Indispensible." — Marjorie Sandor, National Jewish Book Award winner

"Buoyant...unorthodox...A provocative and anti-intuitive manual for making fresh art." — Kirkus Review

"Biespiel offers a number of best practices—not just for writing...but for living a creative life." — The Rumpus

A Statement of Our Values

The Attic Institute of Arts and Letters opposes the legitimation of bigotry, hate, and misinformation. As a studio for writers, we do not tolerate harassment or discrimination of any kind. We embrace and celebrate our shared pursuit of literature and languages as essential to crossing the boundaries of difference. To that end, we seek to maintain a creative environment in which every employee, faculty member, and student feels safe, respected, and comfortable — even while acknowledging that poems, stories, and essays delve into uncomfortable subjects. We accept the workshop as a place to question ourselves and to empathize with complex identities. We understand that to know the world is to write the world. Therefore, we reaffirm our commitment to literary pursuits and shared understanding by affirming diversity and open inquiry.