December 15, 2003 - There are those for whom creative writing - poetry and fiction - comes easily; for others, creative writing is a challenge that often sees beginners turn to accomplished professionals for support and assistance in creating and polishing their writing portfolio.

Beginning January 12^th, creative writers from around the region can engage their minds on a weekly basis, enrolling in "Creative Mind," a team-taught creative writing workshop focusing on fiction and poetry offered through Daniel Webster Colleges continuing education division.

The 3-credit workshop, EN 190, is being held at the colleges Nashua campus, 20 University Drive, Monday evenings 5:30-8:00 p.m. and runs for 16 weeks, through April 26.

For beginning and intermediate poets and fiction writers, there is no better way to develop voice, style, and perspective than by receiving individual focus through a supportive community, according to Professor Alexandria Peary, one-half of the "team."

"This course is extremely special: it's rare to benefit from two creative writing instructors in the same course," said Peary. "Normally, a creative writing class largely entails students exchanging their stories and poems for feedback. However, Jason and I are taking all that we learned from many different and wonderful writers about language and condensing into this one course."

Nashua's Professor Peary, a critically acclaimed poet, is director of writing at Daniel Webster College. Her poems have appeared in numerous journals, including The Gettysburg Review, Crazyhorse, Fence, Spoonriver, Pleadies, and jubilat. Additionally, her work has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and awarded the Academy of American Poets Joseph Langland Prize. In addition to her director of writing responsibilities, Professor Peary also teaches in the colleges social sciences and humanities program. Peary holds an MFA in poetry from the University of Iowa and the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She has been teaching at DWC since 2000.

The other half of the "team," award winning fiction writer Jason Bellipanni, of Manchester, has been the recipient of a Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Award from the Univeristy of Colorado and a writing fellowship from the Vermont Studio Center. His stories have appeared in journals such as The Cream City Review, The Berkeley Fiction Review, and Sniper Logic. His story, "The Last Elf-Mite," was published internationally in the anthology Feathers and Cigarettes, and his work has won awards and recognition from Writers Digest, New Century Writer Awards, Nimrod, and Jacobyte.

Space is limited for this program. For further information please contact DWCs continuing education division at 603-577-6500 or 800-392-9011, e-mail gcde@dwc.edu or visit www.dwc.edu.