workshops
Patrice has taught poetry, creative writing and collage making for many years, working with adults and children in a variety of settings. She currently teaches through the Osher Program at CSUMB, in local public schools, and privately. Patrice offers weekly writing workshops for women, one-day and five-day retreats. Interested in bringing her in to work with your group—workmates, friends, family, church groups?
Get in touch.
Each workshop and retreat offers participants time to reflect and engage with their imagination, to find words for what they thought was unsayable, to write freely, with curiosity and confidence.
WOMEN'S GARDEN WRITING WORKSHOPS
September 24 & October 22, 9:30 - 1:30
Slowly, I've begun teaching in-person again, outdoors only, and, oh, it's lovely to be
with a small group of women sitting in a circle in my Monterey, CA backyard.
This fall I'm offering two workshops, maybe three, depending on the weather.
September 24 & October 22 are for sure, and maybe Sunday, November 13.
We'll meet from 9:30 - 1:30. Like the online workshops, there'll be two writing periods, but additionally, tea and morning snack and a beverage to go with your bag lunch. The fee is $75 and limited to 12 participants. To enroll, please email to confirm there's space: patrice@patricevecchione.com.
ONLINE WOMEN'S WRITING WORKSHOPS
Saturdays, 9/17, 10/15, 11/19 & 12/17,
9:30 - 12:30 (Pacific)
When the pandemic began, with a new book just coming out, I transitioned quickly to leading workshops and book events online—I had to! And it didn't take long for my reluctance about that shift to evaporate. I continue to offer online workshops for a variety of reasons, one being how well it works. It's very close, closer than I could have imagined, to being physically together. Inspiration happens. Writing happens. A sense of community, of being among kindred spirits is no less true than when sitting in a room together. And people can attend no matter where they live—I love that!
If you'd like to be inspired, for your imagination to be lit, to put that pen to page, over and over again, join us for the support, encouragement, joy, and community that will give you the momentum to reach for that pen!
Come for all four sessions or for just one Saturday morning.
Stare to your heart's content—there is so much to see—and then infuse,
expand and deepen your experiences by writing
in the company of other women also engaged in such discovery.
Each session includes two writing periods inspired by a range of materials.
Our morning concludes with an opportunity for those who wish
to share something they’ve just written.
To register:
$215 for all four sessions.
$65 for individual sessions.
writing retreats
The Spring Step into Nature Writing Retreat
May 8 - 12, 2023!
Annually, Patrice offers a five-day writing retreat in a gorgeous location. She’s brought groups to New Mexico, Santa Barbara, Arizona and Mendocino County.
Next spring's retreat will be held at Bell Valley Retreat Center along the Navarro River in the Anderson Valley in rural Mendocino, and only about 100 miles north of San Francisco. Autumn weather, I'm told, is the best time to be there—warm but not hot days, cool but not cold nights.
The fall is my favorite writing time, when the move inward begins and my imagination becomes most lush.
Bell Valley will be our and ours alone for the retreat. Lodging is in the original Toll House, a converted barn, and tent cabins.
We’ll gather for hurry-free days of inspiration. Time for community and solitude, reflection and revery. Imagine not getting into your car for several days and being able to take strolls or hikes in the surrounding hills. Our nutritious and equally delicious meals will be prepared by a personal chef.
Email Patrice for details: patrice@patricevecchione.com
school programs
“She taught us to listen to our hearts.”
—MARGARET, AGE 6
“The thing I like about writing poems is the feeling and the flying of pencils and getting everything on paper.”
—NATHAN RIVERA, AGE 11
“Her very presence releases something for us and gives us permission for expression.”
—9TH GRADE ENGLISH TEACHER
The Heart of the Word: Poetry and the Imagination
A Writing and Literature Program
When I was 19 I began teaching poetry to children, first volunteering in a school, where I taught myself how to teach. Through my program, The Heart of the Word: Poetry and the Imagination, I’ve been at it ever since. In addition to working with children, I offer teacher trainings, classes for parents, and family writing workshops, and I consult in the area of curriculum development.
Through writing poems we can give voice to many aspects of our lives—our daily experiences, thoughts and feelings, our unique perceptions of the world. Writing poetry empowers students to see themselves as writers and to excel in written expression.
Staff development workshops educate teachers in poetry's uniqueness and how it give kids the needed inspiration to develop a lifelong love of writing that can open the door to all forms of writing. Rarely do teachers get the opportunity to write for themselves—a workshop with Patrice provides that chance.
Since parents are their children’s first teachers, a workshop on how to support kids success and enjoyment of writing is most apt.
Family writing workshops bring together children and parents to write together. Ever written a poem as a whole family? Patrice performs poems and leads the group in writing explorations.
During the 2019 - 2020 school year I’m teaching at two elementary schools—Captain Cooper in Big Sur and Robert Down in Pacific Grove. I’ll also offer workshops at area public libraries, including: Monterey, Pacific Grove, Salinas and Santa Cruz.