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A Portable Creativity School
As a writer, visual artist, and musician, Shira's creativity can't be contained. In this spirit Freer Form
was born as a gathering space to shape-shift, defy categorization, and create in the name of love.
Creativity has taught her that it's not entirely natural to confine one's self to a specific shape for too long. No matter the medium, joy and growth can be found in reaching for your newest shape, your freer form.
Central to her teaching is possibility and love. In the words of James Baldwin, "I use the word 'love' here not merely in the personal sense but as a state of being, or a state of grace — not in the infantile American sense of being made happy but in the tough and universal sense of quest and daring and growth." Shira believes most suffering can be traced back to isolation. She's obsessed with art as a way to experience vitality and connection. She's propelled by process, presence and possibility. The mystery and transience of being alive fuel her expressions.
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Shira teaches In Surreal Life, a month-long, communal, global, online class offered quarterly (January, April, August, and September); as well as a select number of individualized 1-on-1 courses throughout
the year.​​
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1-ON-1
Shira takes a select number of online 1-on-1 students every year. Individualized Workshop focuses on developing your work over the course of 6 sessions (i.e. 1 hour, once a week, for 6 weeks). Together you'll focus on generating new material, reading the greats, editing existing work, all while keeping experimentation, growth, possibility, and joy at the heart of the sessions. The course is great for manuscript-building; or, for beginners looking to devote more time to the craft. The course culminates in a portfolio of six poems. All sessions occur via Zoom in a non-judgmental, excited community of two on a consistent time/day of the week. Email Shira for details.
TESTIMONIALS
"This class was the best six weeks I gifted myself this year. Shira will open your heart and make you feel in touch with yourself in an honest and enlightening way. She'll give you the necessary tools to start unlocking your passions and believing in your creativity in a judge-free zone."
- Tanzanite Msola, 1-on-1 workshop participant
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“I met Shira in 2022 during her ISL online program and have been working 1-1 with her ever since. Shira is one of those special human beings whose presence is warm, honest, grounded, generous, wise and real. She brings so much when she attends to my poems: powerful craft suggestions, her emotional and intellectual responses, an admirable attitude of experimentation and play, a sharp attunement to what’s working and what’s not and why, philosophy in relation to the process of writing poems, and an energy that has me leaving every session inspired and excited about poetry. My poems and my understanding of the writing process have developed significantly over our time together and besides all this, Shira is a person I am very grateful to have in my life.”
- Katina Cremona, In Surreal Life participant & 1-on-1 workshop participant
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"After working 1-on-1 with Shira, I feel more grounded in who I am as a poet. Watching Shira work with a poem, I learned what it means to tend to a poem with deep care, attention, and curiosity. Learning with Shira helped me loosen up and see my poems & my voice with more confidence while also giving me practical tools for revision and sustaining my creative life. I'm telling you: Shira is brilliant and generous, and I can cite some of the practices that are now embedded in my creative life directly back to her. This quality time with Shira was a gift to myself and my poetry that I treasure."​
​- Yomalis Rosario, In Surreal Life participant & 1-on-1 workshop participant
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"I've had such fun...questioning my world, my heart... I've seen such amazing blooms. I've grown as a poet/person/body. This workshop is such a church to step inside of."
- Dalton Day, In Surreal Life participant
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"Shira is not only one of the best editors but also one of the best teachers. She doesn’t just provide feedback; she guides you how to become a stronger, sharper editor of your own work—relentless with craft and intention. Shira has completely transformed my revision process. I wouldn’t be the poet I am today without her brilliant instruction and invaluable impact."
- Kelly Grace Thomas, 1-on-1 workshop participant
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"I've taken three courses with Shira and am signing up for my fourth. It's difficult to explain the power of her teaching. She is so versed in the nuances of the creative process, how to heal and nurture it. This is not only the creative process in terms of what one might want to write or paint, but spills over into the act of living. She will open your mind in ways you can't imagine. Her teaching style gets and affirms the longing soul in all of us. I can't stress enough her generosity of spirit. She has helped me find, refine, and accept the importance of writing and its healing power in my life."
- Caroline Stark, 1-on-1 workshop participant​​​
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