Desert Nights, Rising Stars Writers Conference
OCTOBER 12-14, 2023 in Tempe, AZ
REGISTER to attend
Laura will be part of this conference, offering a workshop and panel discussion


Poetic Record: FREE ONLINE Resilience Workshop for Healthcare Workers
Every Tuesday: 6:00-7:00 p.m. Central Time. No experience required.
Poetic Record: Resilience Workshop for Healthcare is a FREE ONLINE workshop blending poetry, community + the science of resilience. Each week, Laura selects a poem and together participants read, respond, write, and can choose to share. Countless studies and decades of research reveal the link between expressive writing and health. Writing provides a private space for individuals to reinforce positive experiences, display gratitude, and explore and articulate painful truths. During this pandemic, healthcare workers face not only the very real danger of COVID-19, but also increased risk of primary and secondary trauma, moral injury, compassion fatigue, and burnout. Read the blog feature about the workshop in Veteran’s VAntage Point.
FREE ONLINE: Writing Workshop for Blue Star Military Families
Alternating Thursdays 2:30-3:30 p.m. Central Time. No experience necessary.
Writing Workshop for Military, Veterans, Caregivers & Spouses. At the heart of community is communication and at the heart of communication is knowing what you contain. Art helps us better understand what we hold within ourselves and allows us to better express that to the people around us. Join us.
Writing Under the Influence:
Generative, Single-Author Workshops via Zoom
with Laura Van Prooyen
Watch for upcoming offerings.
For five weeks, we read in community and write in response together. In this generative workshop, we read poems aloud together for the first hour and in the second hour we write independently. You will receive supplemental materials weekly, including a mix of writing prompts, essays, interviews, and links for further reading. In our final meeting we will celebrate and share from our newly generated work.
The workshop is designed for us to become intimately familiar with the work of a single poet, and to see how their work changed throughout their life. By reading aloud, we open both eye and ear to appreciate the poem’s craft. Writing in community honors the creative process as we generate and share drafts of original work inspired by a particular poet.
Past Single-Author Workshops via Zoom: Larry Levis, Louise Glück (early work + last three books), Brigit Pegeen Kelly, Adelia Prado
Virtual or In-Person Writing Workshops
Are you looking for an engaging experience for your group? Laura works with all ages and all levels, designing workshops based on your needs. Workshops can be generative, discussion-based, or designed toward a specific goal, such as developing a book-length collection.
Workshops also available for expressive writing toward healing and wellness (for veterans, active-service members, trauma survivors, retirement communities, and other interested groups).
Suggested pricing based on workshop design and needs. To start that discussion, Email Laura.
“Laura Van Prooyen has taught the Martha Spoor Young Writers’ Workshop each summer for the last six years. I am impressed by the quality of the workshop when I see the students in action during the session and in the writing they read at the culminating reception. As an audience, we are always moved by their pieces and by the joy they obviously experienced in the workshop with Laura. These middle-school students really connect with her. They feel safe to explore themselves in both playful and significant ways. The workshop is a great success!”
Frank E. Alfaro, Ed. D., Assistant Superintendent for Administrative Services
Alamo Heights ISD, Alamo Heights, TX
Workshops for Teachers
Teacher Training in Reading and Writing Poetry: Grades 6-12
Laura individually designs workshops for schools, districts, and regional education service centers. Suggested pricing based on workshop design and needs. To start that discussion, Email Laura.