Tommy Hays will teach an advanced prose workshop

Local writers will have the opportunity to hone their skills with the Great Smokies Writing Program's spring workshop series of ten courses in poetry and prose. The classes, held at varying locations in Asheville and at two new locations in Hendersonville and Burnsville, are open to writers of varying levels. Students will earn UNC Asheville credit hours in Literature and Language.

Noted prose author Elizabeth Lutyens will lead "The Prose Master Class" at the Asheville School, located off Patton Ave., from 6-8:30 p.m. for 15 consecutive Tuesdays beginning January 27. This three-credit-hour course is designed for Great Smokies Writing Program students who have studied with Lutyens for several semesters and are looking for a more intensive writing and critiquing experience. The workshop is limited to experienced writers who are working on essays, stories, a novel or a memoir. Admission to the class is by invitation only.

Great Smokies Writing Program Director Tommy Hays will lead "Keeping Ourselves Company: An Advanced Creative Prose Workshop" at the Asheville School from 6-8:30 p.m. for 15 consecutive Wednesdays beginning January 28. This is a three-credit-hour class. The course is for advanced prose writers, who are working on projects or who want to start something new in either fiction or memoir. Prospective students must receive the instructor's permission to enroll by contacting Hays at hays@main.nc.us.

Noted poet Cathy Smith Bowers will teach "Lyric and Narrative Poetry: Weaving the Two Together" at The Kellogg Center, 11 Broyles Rd., Hendersonville, from 2:15-4:45 p.m. for 10 consecutive Mondays beginning February 16. This is a two-credit-hour class. The course will explore students' motives and means for weaving the lyric and narrative together in their own poetry. The course is open to beginning and advanced writers.

Asheville Wordfest Director Laura Hope-Gill will teach "The Colors in the Crucible: A Creative Nonfiction Workshop" at Covenant Reformed Presbyterian Church, 281 Edgewood Rd., from 6-8:30 p.m. for 10 consecutive Tuesdays beginning February 17. It is a two-credit-hour class. The course will engage student's in creative nonfiction as a transformative experience by using life skills to tell the truth about their lives. The class is open to all writers.

Noted author Abigail DeWitt will teach "Twenty-five Exercises: A Class in Fiction and Memoir" at the Mountain Heritage Center on Green Mountain Drive in Burnsville from 4-6:30 p.m. for 10 consecutive Wednesdays beginning February 18. This is a two-credit-hour class. This course will focus on the art of storytelling and will use a series of 25 exercises designed to help students find their richest material, develop complex characters, write compelling dialogue and strengthen their voice. The course is open to beginning and advanced writers.

Vicki Lane, author of the Elizabeth Goodweather mystery series, will lead "The First Forty or More: An Advanced Fiction Workshop." This two-credit-hour class will be held at the Randolph Learning Center, 90 Montford Rd., from 6-8:30 p.m. for 10 consecutive Wednesdays beginning February 18. This course is aimed at writers with a novel in progress, almost finished or completed but in need of a final polishing. Students will submit the first 40 pages of their work for class discussion and critique, as well as close editing by the instructor. Prospective students must receive the instructor's permission to enroll by contacting Lane at vicki_lane@mtnarea.net.

Noted prose and poetry author Sebastian Matthews will lead "Stepping Through the Threshold: Generative Writing Exercises for Creative Writers" at the Randolph Learning Center from 6-8:30 p.m. for 10 consecutive Wednesdays beginning February 18. This is a two-credit-hour course. In the process-oriented, generative workshop, students will combine a series of lectures and corresponding exercises designed to generate fresh work and hone writing techniques. It is open to writers of all genres and levels.

Noted writer and poet Fran Ross will teach "Writing for the Body: A Movement and Writing Workshop" at One Center Yoga, 120 Coxe Ave., from 6-8:30 p.m. for 10 consecutive Wednesdays beginning February 18. This is a two-credit-hour course. The course will use yoga and other kinds of meditative movement to inspire the student's writing. No yoga experience is necessary.

Noted playwright and author Steven Samuels will teach "Fact or Fiction: Which Serves Truth Best?" at the Randolph Learning Center from 6-8:30 p.m. for 10 consecutive Wednesdays beginning February 18. This is a two-credit-hour course. The course will explore a story the student will wish to tell from either fact or fiction. The course is open to all writers.

Award-winning poet Katherine Soniat will teach "The Role of the Image in Lyric: A Narrative and Prose Poetry Workshop" from 6-8:30 p.m. at the Randolph Learning Center for 10 consecutive Wednesdays beginning February 18. This is a two-credit-hour course. The course will experiment with many types of visual stimulation to see how the student can enhance a poem. Prospective students must receive the instructor's permission to enroll by contacting Soniat at ksoniat@vt.edu.

UNC Asheville tuition and fees are $172.12 for two-credit-hour courses and $258.18 for three-credit-hour courses for applicants who meet North Carolina residency requirements. In addition, there is a one-time visiting student application fee of $20. Class size is limited; early registration is suggested.

For more information or to register, call UNC Asheville's Extension and Distance Education Office at 828/232-5122 or email fox@unca.edu.