Some of the poems and writings on this website and in the anthologies and books we curate and publish were created in writing workshops held in the Amherst Writers (AWA) Method, a way of holding space for writing together that is both safe and generative, that teaches writers craft, and encourages the discovery of one's own voice.
The method was created in the 1980s by Pat Schneider, a writer herself, who had grown up in poverty in Missouri in the 1930s and 40s. After she received her MFA in writing, Pat was motivated to return to her roots, inviting others who had been marginalized to embrace their ability to use words to create art.
The Amherst Writers organization has always had a strong social justice agenda. Now a US-based not-for-profit arts organization with more than 35 years history in carrying out its mission to support the voices of established and emerging writers, to free silenced and marginalized voices, and to promote respect for the artist in all writers through the use of the AWA method, developed by Pat Schneider.
