Poetry, Prose and Prayer: A Week with Michael Dennis Browne

Michael Dennis Browne

Poetry, Prose, and Prayer is a creative writing workshop designed for poets, essayists, and novelists who are exploring religious themes in their work, as well as writers pursuing liturgical projects such as liturgical prayer and hymn texts. The workshop makes it possible for writers with a variety of vocational pursuits, literary interests, and liturgical experience to work both individually and communally. Participants will have extended periods of time to write, as well as ample opportunities for interchange, mentoring, critical evaluation, and mutual support. Writers admitted to this program will have demonstrated a high degree of competency. The workshop will focus on the individual needs of each writer.

Participants will have a long, unbroken stretch of time to write every day. In the mid-afternoons the group will gather to talk about individual projects. The Collegeville Institute will cover travel expenses to and from the workshop, all workshop fees, and room and board. Those who join the workshop will be expected to reside at the Institute throughout the entire week. Participants will share apartment space, though each person will be assigned a private bedroom. The program is limited to 12 participants.

Michael Dennis Browne, poet, librettist and professor emeritus at the University of Minnesota, will lead the workshop. He has published numerous books of poetry, including his most recent volume, Things I Can’t Tell You; has received numerous honors and awards for his teaching and writing; and has written many texts for music with composer Stephen Paulus, including the libretti for the church opera The Three Hermits, and the post-Holocaust oratorio To Be Certain of the Dawn. Michael is the 2014 recipient of the Graven Award from Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa. The award is given annually to someone “whose life is nurtured and guided by a strong sense of Christian calling and who is making a significant contribution to community, church and society.”

For more information about Michael Dennis Browne, watch this video interview, or visit http://michaeldennisbrowne.com.

Michael was wonderfully encouraging and supportive, and had a tone of honesty with kindness, which participants also followed. He has a gentle touch – and is a wealth of information. His style of teaching was “responsive” to the work being presented/workshopped. He is a master-teacher, and has a real gift for structuring and leading to discussion.

–participant in “Believing in Writing: A Week with Michael Dennis Browne” Summer 2013

Application Process:

Application deadline has passed. We are no longer accepting applications for this workshop.

Complete applications include four pieces:

1. Application form
2. Current resume or c.v.
3. One-page description of your current writing project
4. Writing sample of your recent work (1,000 words or less)

After the workshop concludes, each participant is encouraged to submit an original 500-word essay on a topic of his/her choice, intended for a general audience. Participants’ essays may be used as blog entries on the Collegeville Institute’s website or featured in other Collegeville Institute publications. Workshop participants should submit their essays to the Collegeville Institute within three months after the conclusion of the writing workshop.