By all accounts, the Leisure Learning - Creative Writing Workshop at USTMAX Center in Conroe was a smash hit, and aspiring writers demand an encore. The 8-week continuing education course for creative writers, scheduled to begin October 15, is already registering students.

Texas Poet Laureate 2011 to Teach “Very Powerful” Workshop

In a stroke of good fortune for the attendees, 2011 Texas Poet Laureate Dave Parsons will again lead the class. Since 1992, the poet, author and former U.S. Marine has taught writing at the college level.

Thomas Mendez '09 and Patti Stoetzner took the first workshop and recommend it highly.

Mendez said, “The quality of the class was excellent. Having instruction and feedback from an experienced and talented writer like Dave Parsons was a unique and unexpected opportunity. As an attorney, I’ve learned to focus and hone my writing in a particular way. For the workshop, I stretched my creative muscles and expanded the range of my writing skills. I truly enjoyed the afternoon sessions with him and my classmates.”

Patti Stoetzner called it “very powerful.” “Dave was more than a teacher; he was a facilitator of creativity, giving us topics to research and present,” Stoetzner said. “We were encouraged to critique each other’s work, giving us different perspectives and ideas. It was a very powerful experience.”

Learning to Write from the Depth of One’s Soul

She said she came away with “the confidence to write freely and from the depth of my soul.”

“Not only did I learn what was considered good writing and why, but a very positive shift occurred in my writing and my approach to the process.”

Stoetzner remarked that the workshop helped her to “fill in the cracks of my life.”

Parsons explained, “I believe, since we are all as unique as snowflakes, everyone has a unique individual experience that may (and in many cases, should) be shared in prose or a poem. I love helping them to craft that piece of art.”

Make Sure to Always Have a Seat in Parsons’ Workshop

As for whether Stoetzner would recommend the class to others, she smiled, “I may not recommend it to too many others as I want to make sure I always have a seat in Dave Parsons’ class. If Dave is teaching, I will be there.”

News flash repeated — Dave Parsons is teaching the session that starts on October 15, 2021. For more information about the workshop and to register, follow the links. 

Adult leisure learning at USTMAX Center

Senior Director of USTMAX Center Carla E. Alsandor, Ph.D, said, “The USTMAX Center is a perfect place for adult leisure learning courses, such as Dave’s Creative Writing Workshop, and we are pleased to offer it again this fall. Next month we will announce another class for adult learners wanting to learn computer basics. It is in development now and we plan to offer it in the fall as well.”