For any inquiries on rates, and availability for features/workshops, please don’t hesitate to reach out with the contact information below.
TESTIMONIALS
“Whether inviting participants to explore character-building or helping them wrestle with this complicated world through poetry, and prose, JB’s contagiously fired-up spirit of connectivity & literary curiosity—and his welcoming ability to strengthen community around words—shines through his inventive workshops.”
— Robin Jordan, Former Writing Center Coordinator, Community Arts Activist, MFA Graduate, Oregon State University, Organizer of WNY Book Arts Zine Fest!
“JB’s workshops provide a safe and encouraging space to explore both the written and spoken word. His commitment and passion toward literary education provide an entertaining and informative look into poetics as a whole.”
— Brigid Hannon, Workshop Student, Caffe Aroma Poet of the Month, Author of ‘A Lovely Wreckage’
“J.B. Stone presents thoughtfully crafted workshops that show you another on-road to thinking about writing. He helps to reframe the workshop experience, pulling unique thought processes into his structures.”
— Ben Brindise, Poet, Writer, Teaching Artist, Flash Fiction Editor at Variety Pack, Author of ‘I Was A Lid’ and ‘Rotten Kid’
“It was a fun and interactive experience, really helping me tap more into my creative side. Incredibly useful.”
— Karl Legg, Workshop Student, Poet
Get in Touch
A little bit about me…
I have run a whole variety of workshops for the last six years. from students with Developmental disabilities and/or folks who are Developmentally Disabled to High school and Junior H.S. Students to grown adults of every ingredient in the melting pot of community. I’ve performed, featured, and showcased in over forty venues across the U.S. & Canada during my ten-plus years as both a published writer, and a spoken word poet. For the last five years I’ve represented Buffalo, both as a member of Buffalo’s Pure Ink Poetry slam team and as their Indie Representative at the Southern Fried Poetry Slam Festival, one of the largest and longest running slam poetry festivals in the world.
With over sixty publications of both prose and poetry as well, and a forthcoming MFA candidacy, my workshop topics can have a wide range within the literary arts.
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Here are just several of many workshop themes I’ve been able to facilitate over the years:
Wrestling with Our Prose: An annual five-week workshop, in partnership with Buffalo Creative Workshops, students will look at the art of building their stories through the lens of storyline writing that goes into a professional wrestling.
Many Streams of Consciousness: A workshop that will fuse the exploration of Ekphrastic Writing and the Stream of Consciousness free-write.
Know Your Anthem: Both facilitated as a stand-alone and as a multi-week event, this is a immersive workshop we take a look at anthem poetry, poetry that is used as an introduction to who you are, or about a part of who you are. Great in schools, but also has been done virtually with mutiple different age groups. Specifically for In-person school workshops, we will work with our muscle memory, engaging in various fun, literary exercises before getting into writing the dang thing.
Unfinished Conversations – Confessional Poetics: A workshop where we explore different prompts to create a poem based on things left unsaid, this workshop can be a bit triggering, and is not to be mistaken as a form of therapy, but the elements of confessional poetics explored can in themselves be therapeutic elements, as we embark on the journey of building our craft
Objects in Motion: A generative workshop/stand-alone workshop I co-created with local author, fellow teaching artist, and poet Ben Brindise. Originally inspired by my own learning about Ray Bradbury’s writing process, in this unique take on the use of objects in writing prose we look at our stories brick by brick (pun-intended if you like) building various elements in our storytelling from character sketches to scene setting to dialogue.
As for schools, I have absolutely been known for being a real hit with the classrooms, bringing a unique brand of energy and vibrancy that engages students at multiple different levels of learning. We explore various literary exercises that fuse play and immersion with their writing, exercises that don’t condescend but instead uplift. Lesson plans that universally gravitate to a wide range of students
Along with workshops I have had the honor of featuring my poetry and prose as a feature across the U.S. and Canada, from a Zoom Reading based in NYC, to a coffee shop in the heart of Fayetteville, North Carolina, to the longest running poetry series in Canada, at The Free Times Cafe in Toronto, to a whole host of venues across my home base of Western NY, I am a feature worth those ten minutes, let alone the full hour! I am more than available for Collegiate functions, Business Summits, High School/Junior High School Events, Festivals, Markets, Concertos!
Whether it’s my educational workshops or my poetry performances, I know the artistry and wisdom I’ve cultivated for the last 11 years. I have an energy and prowess that I can absolutely bring to the table, and if you’d like to take a seat I’d be happy to pull the chair out for you.
Please feel free to contact me via my email below.
J.B. Stone 