Write the Poems You Need to Write
And deepen your craft
Starting on January 15th, 2026
Thursdays 2pm to 4pm Pacific Time
Join Danusha in a 5 month Field Guide Mentorship for a select group of up to 8 writers. This is more than a series of workshops. It's an opportunity to develop to your next stage as a poet. You will learn how to lean into your strengths and stay connected to the Why of writing. while taking your work deeper.
We all want to write our strongest work in our own, truest voice
Through workshops, craft talks, generative writing, group mentorship and private consults with Danusha, you will find renewed inspiration and sharpen your knowledge of craft. If you've wanted to develop your poems more fully, receive consistent feedback from a trusted source, and possibly hone or assemble a manuscript, this is a great opportunity.
We're not sure when or if this will be offered again. Space limited.
Take Risks in a Supportive Setting
Learn New Craft Techniques
Enjoy Submitting and Publishing Your Work
APPLY NOW"The longer I teach, the stronger I feel about what I emphasize in my teaching. Mastery of our craft has two sides, on the one hand and intimate knowledge of the importance of things like metaphor, line breaks, rhythm, form, diction, etc… these are the tools that are available to us. And on the other side are the things that make writing matter, what we have to say, how free we feel to say it, and an acceptance of who we are and what we have to say.
If we attend to one and not the other, we won’t develop in the ways we hope to as poets. My intention as a teacher is always to address both sides. My gifts lie in finding the areas where a writer can deepen in their craft and to provide the support they need."
~Danusha
What you get with the Mentorship
Full Access to Litfield
- Writing from prompts in community
- Craft counsel from esteemed guest poets
- Open mic
- Danusha’s deep reading sessions
- One year's membership
- Value: $1250
Personal Consults
- Reflections of strengths (what are your superpowers?)
- Where can your work be strengthened/develop
- Break through barriers to get closer to your deepest and truest material
- Explore and create your own Writing Touchstones to guide you on your path
- Understand your natural writing style through The Nine Lenses of Poetry
Intimate Group Workshops
- Up to 8 people
- Safe, structured, and productive
- Direct feedback from Danusha
- Weekly workshop and biweekly feedback
Craft Talks
- From Danusha’s craft book in progress: The Broken Body, The Nine Lenses of Poetry, Poetic Beginnings, Gestures of Certainty and Uncertainty, Getting to the Marrow, Writing Scale, Irritant and Solace and more
- Live and recorded
Publishing Guidance/Advice
- Develop or refine your process of submitting work
- Personalize your approach to publishing
- Make publishing an enjoyable process
- Receive support with manuscript decisions
Group Mentorship
- Ask about anything, including all aspects of writing and the writing life
- Address craft questions
- Receive guidance on your growth as a writer
Starting January 15th 2026, Weekly group meetings on Thursdays 2pm to 4pm Pacifc Time.
Each meeting includes an hour workshop and on the second hour a rotation of Group Mentorship, Craft Talks, Generative Writing, and Personal Consults.
About Danusha
Danusha Laméris, a poet and essayist, was raised in Northern California and born to a Dutch father and a Barbadian mother.
A Pushcart Prize recipient, she was honored with the 2020 Lucille Clifton Legacy Award. Laméris also served as the 2018–2020 Poet Laureate of Santa Cruz County, California.
Her work has appeared in The Best American Poetry, The New York Times, Orion, The American Poetry Review, The Kenyon Review, Ploughshares, Poetry, and Prairie Schooner. Her widely shared poem “Small Kindnesses” has been translated into multiple languages, quoted in O Magazine, turned into a short film, and recently read by actress Helena Bonham Carter.
Her debut collection, The Moons of August (2014), was chosen by Naomi Shihab Nye as the winner of the Autumn House Press Poetry Prize and was a finalist for the Milt Kessler Book Award.
Laméris’s second book, Bonfire Opera (University of Pittsburgh Press, Pitt Poetry Series), was a finalist for the 2021 Paterson Poetry Award and the recipient of the 2021 Northern California Book Award in Poetry.
Her most recent collection, Blade by Blade (2024), is now available from Copper Canyon Press.
She is on the faculty of Pacific University’s low-residency MFA program.
What Past Students Say About Danusha
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I've learned so much from Danusha's workshops and the opportunity to look at my writing with different lenses -- Small Worlds, Temporary Kingdoms, Nine Lenses. I was inspired to write about new material or write about old material in fresh, new ways.
Margo Fawkes
”
I resonated with how Danusha expresses her ideas and I gained new insights into what I need to do specifically to improve my work and how to read/write poems.
-Teresa Williams
