Teacher

For over thirty years I have designed, developed, and delivered workshops,  seminars and master classes in both the US and the UK, working with all ages and stages of writers, tellers and presenters – both experienced and inexperienced. Using my own ever-evolving method, I work at universities, teacher training centers, art centers, conferences, schools and businesses on both sides of the Atlantic, in Australia, and in New Zealand. (See Master Classes for a partial list.)

I bring play to my teaching through creative practices from other disciplines in both technical and creative projects. Spontaneity leads to openness which is essential in creating, and movement involves people in a more complete way. They get their bodies into the process of finding their words and move into a deeper awareness and understanding.

In classes, groups, and workshops I offer an open ended step by step  process which addresses all basic learning styles and levels of sophistication. Anyone can follow it, from small children and committed non-writers, to master creators – and they surprise themselves.

My method strengthens writing, speaking, and especially thinking skills and encourages emergent thinking, where ideas unfold associatively. Creating from experience, even the most reluctant communicators gain a sense of power with words. “Bringing style and humor to the process, Burnes’ common sense approach to teaching is both engaging and extremely effective.” Dillons Bookstore, London.

Comments on Teaching:
“Her quiet charisma seems to be as popular with adults as it is with school children.”
—Educational Supplement, The Times of London

“Carol’s approach is useful to any writer – prose or poetry… beginners and experienced poets alike will gain a new impetus from her innovative, inspiring and fun-filled teaching methods. Carol leads her students to experience the world with a childlike freshness and immediacy, coaxing from even the most inhibited would-be writers work of surprising range and depth.”
—Hereford and Worcester County Council

“Poetry-the art of clear thinking – American poet and teacher Carol Burnes argues that good poetry not only follows the rules of prose but accentuates them.”
—The Educational Guardian, London

“Carol’s idea of poetry is straightforward, elegant, economical and craftsmanlike…”
—Hereford and Worcester County Council