Teaching & Retreats
I teach writing as a practice of attention — to language, to memory, to the self that shows up on the page. All levels welcome, from beginners to longtime poets to elders finding new stories to tell. I also lead small, immersive writing retreats: fewer people, more time, a deeper encounter with the page.
Past Classes
A selection of past classes and workshops.
July 10–31, 2026
Write Stronger Poems Through Form
📍 The Writers Grotto · Online (Zoom)
Exploring the pantoum, sonnet, tanka, and ghazal — how formal constraint creates emotional movement and stronger poems.
May 2–23, 2026
Unlock the Poet Within: Transforming Tradition
📍 The Writers Grotto · Online (Zoom)
Exploring how poets of color reinvent traditional forms — sonnet, villanelle, free verse — to voice modern life and memory.
May 1–22, 2026
Fragments, Rooms, & Returns: Writing Nonlinear Prose
📍 The Writers Grotto · Online (Zoom)
A generative workshop in nonlinear prose — fragments, repetition, and structure for lyric essay and hybrid work.
August 7–28, 2026
Write With Image, Not Explanation
📍 The Writers Grotto · Online (Zoom)
A four-week prose class on image, compression, emotional restraint, and sentence movement — replacing explanation with vivid writing.
August 22 & 29, 2026
What We Carry: Writing Ancestral Memory Through Story, Image, and Inheritance
📍 San Diego Writers, Ink · Write Your Story Now
Exploring how ancestral memory becomes poetry and prose — through story, image, and inheritance.
Keeper of Stories Retreats
Rooted in the belief that writing begins with attention, these retreats invite participants to slow down, listen closely, and explore the stories that matter most to them. Through generative prompts, close reading, discussion, and dedicated writing time, we engage with memory, image, place, and lived experience.
Days together, rather than hours, change what’s possible: there’s time to return to a poem after sleeping on it, to sit with a story past the point where you’d normally stop. Whether you are beginning a new project, returning to the page, or simply seeking creative renewal, Keeper of Stories Retreats offer a welcoming space to write, reflect, and connect.
Generative prompts Close reading Dedicated writing time Memory & place Small & intimate
The first Keeper of Stories retreat is planned for fall 2026. Join the waitlist to be the first to know when exact dates and location are announced.
Join the Waitlist →“The poems I began in this class went on to be published. Sabina’s thoughtful, craft-driven approach helped me create some of my strongest work.”
“She makes complex craft concepts tangible without oversimplifying them. Every class left me with practical tools I still use in my writing.”
Private Consultations
I work one-on-one with writers on fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, and works in progress. Private consultations can focus on a short manuscript or excerpt, revision, questions of craft, or a particular challenge within the work.
I also occasionally work privately with writers on projects outside these areas. If you have something in mind, please feel free to reach out.
Sabina Khan-Ibarra 