Essayist, Poet, Teacher, Narrator, Storyteller

 

They Spoke Fire

Click above for a description of this inquiry into the History of Alchemy.

The next They Spoke Fire will begin Monday September 30 and runs through October 28.

Register at Brown Paper Tickets or use the link on the page. 

I direct the Writing Program at Lenoir-Rhyne Center for Graduate Studies. I engineer the program to address the world's need for narrative, for storytellers and story-listeners in every field.

In 2008 I founded the multicultural poetry and storytelling festival Asheville Wordfest, which I continue to direct. I am the poet laureate of the Blue Ridge Parkway and an NC Arts Fellow for my writings on late-deafness what what deafness teaches me about listening.

Currently, I am developing The Narrative Center at Lenoir-Rhyne University. Here, I seek to build narrative quality across the disciplines from climate to medicine.

With growing partnerships with Science Communicators of North Carolina, with Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons Program for Narrative Medicine, Wake Forest School of Medicine and Institute for the Humanities, as well as The City of Asheville, the Narrative Center is an exciting space where language connects.

This work connects to my life-long work in Creative Process. Creative cognition and associative reasoning hold yet untapped medicine. All my work hovers around the heart and soul of things.

As a teacher, I work with students at all skill-levels in all settings. I am gifted at opening writing up in people, in creating safe places where people can speak, share, and discover.

               Contact me regarding readings, talks, and workshops. Fee range is $850 to $2500.

                                 For a 16-week one-on-one course in writing, the fee is $1600.

Throughout this website, view the short videos featuring Laura speaking about one of her many fascinations, alchemy, as it pertains to writing and everyday life.