Classes at the Attic

APPS DUE: JANUARY 12 | CNF Studio | Jan 23 - Mar 27 | In-person

Write What You Want to Know

 

The Creative Nonfiction (CNF) Studio is based on the idea that inspiration, accountability, and community are essential to every writer’s growth. The CNF Studio meets weekly for multi-month sessions, and its curriculum is designed to help you deepen your writing through a keener understanding of both literary craft and your own voice. The CNF Studio is open to applications from all writers, and members often return for multiple sessions. This creates the Studio’s special experience: a consistent, deep, and supportive study of your writing in the company of other writers. Each weekly session includes a close-reading and discussion of a selected work of creative nonfiction, a roundtable reading of take-home prompts, and in-depth critique of several works-in-progress. Over the course of their time in the CNF Studio, writers can expect to read widely and gain deep insight into their own writing, all the while exploring questions of structure, form, narration, truth, memory, influence, and voice.  | Maximum 9 students  

Learn more about the CNF Studio

To Apply: To apply to join the next Creative Nonfiction Studio, please send a writing sample of up to 3,500 words and a 250-word statement of purpose.

Send your application to: cnfstudio@atticinstitute.com

Teacher: 
Brian Benson
Workshop Day: 
Thursday
Time: 
Jan 23 - Mar 27, 5:30 - 8:30pm
Total Fee: 
Registration: $715

LFG* Workshop w Wendy Willis | Jan 4 - 5 | Zoom

We've eaten too much, doom-scrolled too much, read too many hot takes. It's time to shake off the leaves and reconnect with our imaginations and the wild world around us. It's time to start—or return to—that poem or essay or novel that's  tugging on our shirt sleeve or languishing at the bottom of the pile. This is a generative workshop that will kickstart your writing and get you ready to face 2025 with imagination and zeal. All genres encouraged and welcome.

*Let's <flipping> go

Register for this workshop

Teacher: 
Wendy Willis
Time: 
Sat-Sun, Jan 4, 10am - 4pm + Jan 5, 10am - 1pm | Pacific Time
Location: 
Via Zoom
Total Fee: 
$249

Craft of Fiction Workshop: Place + Character w Jules Ohman | Jan 12 - Feb 2

This generative workshop will explore the craft of fiction through the lens of building compelling characters, a strong sense of place, balancing scene and exposition, and creating narrative weight. Open to all writers. Open to all writers.

Register for this workshop

Teacher: 
Jules Ohman
Workshop Day: 
Sunday
Time: 
Sundays, Jan 12 - Feb 2, 11am - 1:30pm
Location: 
Attic Institute, 1033 SW Yamhill St., Suite 405
Total Fee: 
$275

Craft of Personal Essays w Paige Thomas | Jan 14 - Feb 18

This workshop is for both the seasoned essayist and the writer who is brand new to the genre. Built to introduce (or reintroduce) the power of the essay to convey personal experience, we’ll spend our time exploring what makes a great personal essay through prompts, discussion, and excerpted readings. Writers should expect to generate new material that can be expanded upon throughout the course and beyond.

Register for this workshop

Teacher: 
Paige Thomas
Time: 
Tuesdays, Jan 14 - Feb 18, 6:30 - 8pm
Location: 
Attic Institute, 1033 SW Yamhill St., Suite 405
Total Fee: 
$249

Beginning Your Poetry Practice Workshop w Craig Brandis | Jan 16 - Feb 20 | Zoom

Have you recently begun to write poetry or now wish to? Learning to write poetry begins with looking at the world with a sense of wonder and curiosity. It begins with special affection for words and a desire to be in the company of other poets who feel the same. Maybe you just need a push — a practice? Each session in this workshop will begin with poetry games and in-class writing. Craft discussions, based on what we write and share, will help us follow the trail down to where things get true. Poems from Duo Duo, Kay Ryan and others help light our way. Share your work in an environment of acceptance and discovery.  Open to all writers. Come join us!

Register for this workshop

Teacher: 
Craig Brandis
Time: 
Thursdays, Jan 16 - Feb 20, 6:30 - 8pm, Pacific Time
Location: 
Via Zoom
Total Fee: 
$249

Monthly Poetry Gathering w John Morrison | Jan 19 - Apr 13

“A poet’s resources and inspirations remain constant, but our curiosity about form and technique renews the art for us.” Paul Violi

A Monthly Exploration of Possibilities: Forms and Constraints

Here’s a gathering that can flow with the longer rhythms of your writing. One Sunday afternoon for four months, in a comfortable but focused fashion, we will explore the power and potential of form and constraints to generate, deepen and strengthen our poetry. Working with both strict and more flexible forms, and using model poems as guides, we will experiment and generate drafts to take back into your own practice and strategies to power energetic revisions of stubborn drafts. This session is in person, so we can listen closely and productively support one another as we play and share.

Register for this workshop

Teacher: 
John Morrison
Workshop Day: 
Sunday
Time: 
Sundays, 2 - 4pm. Meets: Jan 19, Feb 16, Mar 16, Apr 13
Location: 
Attic Institute, 1033 SW Yamhill, Suite 405, Portland, OR 97205
Total Fee: 
$225

A Book of Hours Workshop w Wendy Willis | Jan - Oct 2025 | Zoom

The novelist, poet, and Substack genius Jeannine Ouelette recently wrote "pay close attention to the world. If you do this consistently and record your observations meticulously, your writing will explode with a realness and a vividness you cannot achieve any other way." This loosely connective generative workshop taps into the hours and the seasons that prod--demand?--us to attend to the moments that otherwise might slip by. 

You can take one, two, three, or all four workshops that will both leave you with your own book--or books--of hours and vivify and deepen your other writing. 

All genres encouraged and welcome.

Register for ALL Four Book of Hours sessions : Jan 25-26, Apr 26-27, July 26-27, Oct 18-19

Register ONLY for Winter Book of Hours: Jan 25, 10am - 4pm + Jan 26, 10am - 1pm

Register ONLY for Spring Book of Hours: Apr 26, 10am - 4pm + Apr 27, 10am - 1pm

Register ONLY for Summer Book of Hours: July 26, 10am - 4pm + July 27, 10am - 1pm

Register ONLY for Fall Book of Hours: October 18, 10am - 4pm + Oct 19, 10am - 1pm

Teacher: 
Wendy Willis
Time: 
Four weekends (see above for dates + times)
Location: 
Via Zoom
Total Fee: 
Discount for all four sessions: $950. $249 for each session.

The A.M. Memoir Workshop w Laura Moulton | Jan 27 - Mar 10

Writing the Self

Using prompts, short readings, and discussion, this generative nonfiction workshop will focus on mining our personal histories and crafting them into the form they deserve. We’ll also explore the ways we sometimes get in the way of our own stories — and how to use that to break through and write around the blocks. CNF, personal essays, journaling...all are welcome. Open to all writers.

Register for this workshop

Teacher: 
Laura Moulton
Workshop Day: 
Monday
Time: 
Mondays, Jan 27 - Mar 10, 10 - 11:30am [no class Feb 17]
Location: 
Attic Institute, 1033 SW Yamhill St., Suite #405
Total Fee: 
$249

The "Story Renovation" Workshop w Alex Behr | Feb 9 - Mar 2

Reframing story “revision” as a renovation can break down barriers of procrastination, frustration, and fears a story will never become “right.” Revision can seem like a punitive step leftover from school to meet a rubric or grade instead of an exploratory step akin to the joys of freewriting. Story renovation means keeping the structure, or bones, and restoring or reimagining other parts through guided word play. Participants will use story drafts to practice hands-on renovation approaches such as highlighting, cutting and taping, and drawing maps, along with generating new passages. We’ll leave with renovation techniques to keep us motivated and engaged and guidance and models from craft experts. 

Register for this workshop

 

Teacher: 
Alex Behr
Time: 
Sundays,10am - 12:30pm, Feb 9, 16, 23, Mar 2
Location: 
Attic Institute, 1033 SW Yamhill St., Suite 405
Total Fee: 
$275

Craft of Poetry Workshop: Voice and Vision w Craig Brandis | Feb 27 - Apr 3 | Zoom

Have you been wondering how to move your poetry practice to the next level? Would you like to share your work in an environment of acceptance and discovery? Leveling up means expanding your vocabulary of poetry moves. “For me, meaning arrives, almost unbidden, from an accumulation of details,” says Ted Kooser, and we're going to study how some modern masters make their poems work by focusing on details: physical, emotional and temporal, and their use of literary devices and motifs. We will then apply those lessons to our own poems. Discover how your poetic voice and vision emerge, change and grow. Poems from Arthur Sze, Mary Ruefle, Li-Young Lee and others help light our way. Come join us! Open to all writers.

Register for this workshop

Teacher: 
Craig Brandis
Time: 
Thursdays, Feb 27 - Apr 3, 6:30 - 8pm, Pacific Time
Location: 
Via Zoom
Total Fee: 
$249

Start Your Memoir Workshop w Paige Thomas | Mar 4 - Apr 8

Sometimes, starting is the hardest part. Writing about your life can feel impossible, but that is when we rely on our writing communities. This workshop is built for writers interested in developing the beginning of a longer nonfiction project like a memoir or essay collection. Writers will generate material in a thoughtful deadline-driven process, share an opening draft with a supportive audience, and give/receive feedback. Writing prompts and exercises will be provided throughout the course to sharpen your project’s start.

Register for this workshop

Teacher: 
Paige Thomas
Time: 
Tuesdays, Mar 4 - Apr 8, 6:30 - 8pm
Location: 
Attic Institute, 1033 SW Yamhill St., Suite 405
Total Fee: 
$249

Memoir Bootcamp w Erica Berry | Mar 8 -9

Whether you’re already knee-deep in a memoiristic writing project or intrigued by the prospect of beginning to write with a first-person voice, this two-day intensive will provide a supportive, nourishing environment for you to develop your craft. Through a mix of short writing exercises, readings, discussion, craft talks, and optional opportunities for feedback, students will gain tools to think more deeply about time and structure in memoir, narrative voice, the balance of scene and exposition, and more general advice on the challenges and joys of writing in this genre. No experience required, only curiosity and a willingness to experiment. Open to all writers.

Register for this workshop

Teacher: 
Erica Berry
Time: 
Sat-Sun, Mar 8 - 9, 10am - 2:30pm
Location: 
Attic Institute, 1033 SW Yamhill St., Suite 405
Total Fee: 
$249

Craft of Fiction Workshop: Plot + Structure w Jules Ohman | Mar 16 - Apr 6

This generative workshop will explore the craft of fiction through the lens of narrative and story-telling, building compelling characters, a strong sense of place, balancing scene and exposition, and creating narrative weight. Open to all writers. Open to all writers.

Register for this workshop

Teacher: 
Jules Ohman
Time: 
Sundays, Mar 16 - Apr 6, 11am - 1:30pm
Location: 
Attic Institute, 1033 SW Yamhill St., Suite 405
Total Fee: 
$275

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.