Mary Stewart Hammond has been the Poet-in-Residence at the Writers Community in New York and on the faculty of The Writer’s Voice of the West Side Y. She currently conducts master classes in poetry under the auspices of the New York Writers Workshop.
The class is made up of graduates of MFA and Ph.D programs, as well as poets with no undergraduate degree. Her students go on to achieve admission to MFA programs, to publication in a wide spectrum of literary journals, to publication of chapbooks, as well as full collections, with awards such as the Kate Tufts Discovery Award, the Pushcart Prize, The Nation/Discovery, and the Nicholas Roerich Poetry Prize from Story Line Press, and a Guggenheim.
Current students give a public reading at the end of each semester at the KGB Bar and at Teachers & Writers, both in New York City.
Manuscript submission required. She is also available for private tutorials by telephone. Rates upon request.
What Her Students Say:
"Mary Stewart Hammond is a truly empowering teacher whose insights are magical, whose passion for the right word, discerning eye for even the smallest details, respect for the creative process, compassion for our frailties and celebration of our strengths, unfailingly inspire us to reach higher." —Joe Bacal
"Mary Stewart is an astonishing teacher. She edits and critiques poems rigorously and has the ability to pare down a poem to what is essential...She creates a safe place to bring writing, of even the most personal nature. Finally, she brings to the workshop an extraordinary intellect. It is really a privilege to study with her." —Margot Mindich
"...She is remarkable in being open to differing styles of writing and rigorous in her criticism and in upholding a high standard of artistic accomplishment..." —Kip Zegers
"I have never studied with a more gifted teacher...her guidance and critiques, always so insightful, so clear...her encouragement has empowered me..." —Benjamin Kukoff
"Anyone who has read Out Of Canaan would relish the opportunity to study with Mary Stewart Hammond. But who could guess that she would combine the ability to write such a book with the gift for teaching poetry. How does she do it? Maybe it's her attention to the craft and line by line editing. Maybe it's her quick grasp of what the student is trying to say even when the poem is not quite there yet. Certainly it's her creation of a "safe" environment. I do know that she gets results. Her students grow. And publish. And keep coming back. What more could you ask for?"
—Betsy Harrington