Heidi Mordhorst - WHISPERshout Writing Workshop

About the Artist

Heidi Mordhorst is a working poet and teacher who has taught in diverse classrooms for 35 years. She is the author of two collections of poetry for young readers (SQUEEZE: POEMS FROM A JUICY UNIVERSE and PUMPKIN BUTTERFLY: POEMS FROM THE OTHER SIDE OF NATURE, both Wordsong) and many contributions to journals and anthologies for adults and children, most recently POETRY BY CHANCE (Button Poetry) and DEAR HUMAN ON THE EDGE OF TIME: POEMS ON CLIMATE CHANGE IN THE US (Paloma Press).  Heidi recently served a 3-year term on the NCTE Excellence in Poetry Award Committee. Since 2003 Heidi has offered writing PD and literacy enrichment programs for ages 4-11 in both public and private settings, and she now leads multiarts poetry programming for young writers through her organization WHISPERshout Writing Workshop. It is her mission to offer art + nature + culture + poetry experiences to ALL kids, regardless of means.

Artist's Statement

What is a WHISPERshout Workshop? In a WHISPERshout writing workshop, young readers and writers work with veteran classroom teacher, published poet, and early literacy specialist Heidi Mordhorst.  Each program has a planned outline, but in consultation with the teachers who know them best, Heidi considers the needs and interests of the students and adjusts the content to match. Students receive support at their level of reading and writing development while simultaneously participating in a socially and emotionally rich group literacy experience. All kids are enabled to participate and succeed. Each class session ranges from 60-90 minutes to allow time for this creative/academic work. Heidi is available for single-session workshops but prefers an engagement of 2-4 sessions in order to develop relationships with students and create an experience of artistic expression with long-lasting impact.