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Alumni Ron Shapiro Publishes Understory: Nature Poetry Born from Stillness
by Writing Workshops Staff
3 months ago
When the world fell silent during the pandemic, Ron Shapiro found his voice. The award-winning teacher with over 40 years of classroom experience discovered that the hushed streets and collective pause offered an unexpected gift: the space to develop a dedicated writing practice that would lead to the publication of his poetry collection, Understory: A Book of Poems.
"I've written most of my life but did not dedicate myself to a regular writing practice until the pandemic," Shapiro reflects. "At that time, the sadness of hearing about people's suffering and silence of the streets devoid of cars, trucks and leaf blowers. Since then nature, especially the forest, has been my greatest inspiration."
Understory invites readers to rediscover the beauty of nature, the depth of human connection, and the wisdom that comes from simply paying attention. The collection represents Shapiro's commitment to sharing his deepest thoughts and feelings about the necessity to slow down, remember our history, be still, and notice. Through these sensory experiences, he believes, wisdom and balance can be realized.
Shapiro's writing journey was significantly shaped by his experience with WritingWorkshops.com, where he took three transformative classes, including Writing Mary Oliver 6-Week Online Poetry Class with Lauren Davis, The National Poetry Month Generative Workshop with Lauren Davis, and Poems of Gratitude: Celebrating The Summer Solstice Zoom Seminar with Lauren Davis.
He credits instructor Lauren Davis with providing guidance and prompts that challenged and inspired his writing, noting he's already signed up to take her Mary Oliver class again this fall.
"These courses opened my eyes to how another poet's words or ideas can serve as both inspiration and prompts," Shapiro explains. "I would add that being mindful of others' feedback can allow a draft to be seen in a new and positive light."
Drawing inspiration from nature poets like Mary Oliver, Wendell Berry, and Joy Harjo, as well as poets who focus on small moments of life such as Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer, James Crews, and Ted Kooser, Shapiro has developed a writing practice that embraces continuous creation without self-judgment. His approach allows some pieces to emerge as worthy of further revision while maintaining the freedom to explore and experiment.
The online workshop environment proved particularly valuable for Shapiro, who found himself among "like-minded writers who eagerly and enthusiastically respond to others' writing." He especially appreciated the instructors' openness to taking risks and offering meaningful feedback—elements that helped shape his unique voice.
Ron Shapiro's impressive publication history includes appearances in The Whole Word Catalogue, More Strategies for Teaching Writing, NoVa Bards 2022-2024, Gatherings, Poets of the Promise, Poetry X Hunger, Walt Whitman 205 Anthology, and many other literary magazines. He has also published two previous chapbooks: Sacred Spaces and Wonderings. A Fellow of the Pennsylvania and Northern Virginia Writing Projects and recipient of Cornell University's Outstanding Teacher Award, Shapiro currently mentors students with college essay writing and facilitates a Memoir Writing course through George Mason University's Osher Lifelong Learning Institute.
Ready to embark on your own writing journey? Whether you're inspired by nature, seeking to develop a regular writing practice, or looking to connect with a supportive community of writers, WritingWorkshops.com offers the best online creative writing workshops to help you find your voice and share your story with the world. Join us and discover how the right guidance, prompts, and community can transform your writing practice, just as it did for Ron Shapiro.
