About Lisa

Lisa Gluskin Stonestreet headshot

Lisa Gluskin Stonestreet is the author of The Greenhouse (Frost Place Prize) and Tulips, Water, Ash (Morse Poetry Prize). Her poems have appeared in journals and anthologies including Plume, Zyzzyva, Kenyon Review, Nasty Women Poets, and the Bloomsbury Anthology of Contemporary Jewish American Poetry. She has received fellowships from the Phelan Foundation, Javits Foundation, Millay Colony for the Arts, and Vermont Studio Center. She holds an MFA in poetry from the Warren Wilson MFA Program for Writers and a BA in contemporary American literature from Yale University. Lisa is spending 2024-25 reading, writing, editing, teaching, eating, and exploring  her way through North America, Europe, and points beyond. Follow her on Substack for upcoming classes and events, amusing signage, and photos of the sky in three countries and counting.

Reviews

“…a poem of vertiginous self-consciousness: its extremity of feeling countervailed by the pressure of silence it makes felt. Like Gerard Manley Hopkins in ‘No worst, there is none’, this poet brings experience to a pitch in language at once pared back and wild with its play of repeating words and sounds.”

Porter Prize judges’ statement

“Investigates the joys and complexities of this evolution, this meld and pull, with verve and a calming intelligence.”

Bob Hicok

“The Greenhouse is as alive as the title promises. These poems are wildly thoughtful, pensively wild.”

Laura Kasischke

“The voice that guides us through this unknown territory is dependable and a bit confessional, unique, and unstoppable.”

The California Journal of Women Writers

“Until reading Lisa Gluskin Stonestreet’s The Greenhouse … I didn’t know what a chapbook could do. I’d read plenty of moving chapbooks, sure. But to create, in only twelve poems, an experience as urgent, as real, and as necessary as The Greenhouse is astonishing.”

Rain Taxi Review of Books

“These multivocal poems reverberate with questions, asides, daydreams, mathematical calculations…. It is thrilling to follow Stonestreet on this journey, through patience and restlessness, moving from one thought to the next while she goes about the daily chores of looking after a young child.  The speaker doesn’t seem dulled by the monotony and sleep deprivation but …

Sabotage Reviews

“Throughout this brilliant collection, Stonestreet’s curiosities and honesties are bracing and true, as she chides and nurtures, studies and entreats, meditates, amuses, and sings, even if it’s just ‘one song when all the rest have fled from memory.”

David Baker

“Stonestreet mixes the playful and the profound, and the result well represents its place in a venerable series.”

New Letters

“The speaker wildly zags from the human scale to the galactic, riffing on anything that could be considered Other… deliver[ing] surprise after surprise. Tulips, Water, Ash is a book that excels at such surprises, striking fresh sparks of meaning from line to line and, sometimes, word to word.”

West Branch

“A wonderfully alive, actively thinking attentiveness…. darting this way and that toward meaning, opening our eyes and ears, our minds, to continual change—personal, communal, and cosmic. Keenly aware of the potential ‘heat in the flint, light in the twig,’ she shows us how to see the very flux of life.”

Reginald Gibbons

“The rich light in this book—of street fairs, sun through the windshield—might half-blind us if this poet weren’t looking with such close and dark attention. Again and again, memory swims up from childhood, and love disturbs and soothes.”

Marianne Boruch

“It is rare to see a collection, debut or not, that is so impeccably crafted—precise, wonderfully complicated, and rich. This is a book of opportunities: linguistic, syntactic, imagistic. Every bit of detail contributes, in an inevitable way, to the whole.”

Martha Rhodes

“Stonestreet’s empathies of eye, her vision and revisionary glancings, let us undergo radical shifts in scale between the ‘burnished’ and the ‘broken’…. Stonestreet’s imagination is as tender as it is tough-minded.”

Pimone Triplett

“Tulips, Water, Ash risks talking about the things we have no words for. Simultaneously incisive and passionate, these poems take a chillingly fresh look at the world and ‘chew it till it bleeds.’ They offer the insights we desperately need.”

Robert Thomas

“Radiant attentiveness, rare and gorgeous as it may be, is among the least of Lisa Gluskin Stonestreet’s gifts. Her real distinction is the uncanny ability to penetrate to the heart of an image: to trace its stern trajectories, to capture and unfold its inborn logic. Vision for Stonestreet involves a rigorous will-to-submit: this is both …

Linda Gregerson

“I am positive that without Lisa’s expert editing, my chapbook would not have been accepted for publication. In fact, my publisher pushed up the date because he said there was ‘basically nothing to fix.’  Lisa sculpted my poems, trimming and chiseling, until only the beautiful lines stood before me. She listened intently, heard my voice, …

Dana Kinsey

Mentoring & Editing

“We are making birds, not birdcages.” —Dean Young, The Art of Recklessness

As an editor, I work with individual writers, helping edit and shape manuscripts and individual poems. The goal is to help each poem become what it wants to be—which might mean anything from a close focus on individual lines to a wide-ranging conversation about contexts and influences. Email me if you’re interested in working together.


What my clients say

“Lisa has edited my poems for the past ten years. Without exception, I have found her to be a thorough and thoughtful editor of my work. Her critique can include anything from suggestions to push the poem in a new direction to questions about form, word choice, or grammar. Often she’ll suggest other poets to read or meditations on her own process as a poet. I have come to trust Lisa’s sensibility so much that I never send anything out without having her look it over first.”

—Greg Mahrer, author of A Provisional Map of the Lost Continent

“Lisa is an amazing editor. I turned to her when I had an out-of-control manuscript of 144 (!) poems and did not know what to do with it. Her editorial eye was crucial in enabling me to get perspective. She helped me think through the qualities that make my work my own. Lisa never made decisions for me but inspired my own inner editor: helped me quiet the critical editor who wants to edit poems because they’re too risky, and free the editor who wants a book that goes far beyond the sum of its parts. I recommend her wholeheartedly.”

—Robert Thomas, author of Bridge

“I am positive that without Lisa’s expert editing, my chapbook would not have been accepted for publication. In fact, my publisher pushed up the date because he said there was ‘basically nothing to fix.’  Lisa sculpted my poems, trimming and chiseling, until only the beautiful lines stood before me. She listened intently, heard my voice, and taught me her artistry. My gratitude is immeasurable.”

—Dana Kinsey, author of Mixtape Venus

“Lisa edited my most recent manuscript of poems. Her help proved to be invaluable in so many ways. First, she sorted through the keepers, the near misses and definitely nots with uncanny accuracy. Next, she attended to the minutiae of style, grammar, line breaks and formatting with deft precision. But most importantly, as I struggled to find the right form for my sprawling, prosy meditations, she calmly suggested several options and then stood back to let me discover for myself what she had already seen. She made the process a pleasure and got it right. I cannot recommend her highly enough.”

—George Higgins, author of There, There

“It can be hard to keep all the pieces of a poem clear on the page, and in one’s mind. ‘Lisa is wonderful. Wonderful!’ I repeated to the silent house after reading her response to my poems. She is such a good reader, and her feedback always motivates me to work.”

—Catherine Grossman

“Lisa’s editorial eye goes to the core of a poem. She’s highly intuitive, sensitive to each poem’s potential for depth and power. She’s very generous with her extensive knowledge of poetry and poetry resources. Lisa has led me to understand my manuscript in new ways, and also helped me with individual poems—seeing where they might be stuck and suggesting ways to free them. I recommend her highly.”

—Athena Kashyap, author of Crossing Black Waters

“Working with Lisa is a total pleasure. She is insightful, thorough, respectful, and clear, with a finely tuned ear for the rhythm of a poem and a great facility with all things grammatical. I was impressed with the way she worked to make each poem better in a way that was entirely in line with my intentions for that piece. In short, Lisa heard what I needed, and delivered everything I’d hoped for and then some. It is wonderful to feel that my manuscript has been read so carefully and edited so well.”

—Marcia Pelletiere, author of Miracle with Roasted Hens and Crown of Hornets

“Lisa is an amazing editor. I turned to her for help with my writing sample while applying to MFA programs, so I was already sending her what I considered some of my best work. She never tried to impose her own style or vision on me. Rather, her edits and suggestions were rooted in what she perceived I was trying to accomplish. And she absolutely got me. She didn’t just improve the poems, she helped me crack them open and get to their emotional stakes. Even poems I viewed as finished, through her critical eye became new again. I found myself suddenly seeing all kinds of possibilities.”

—Emily Knight

“Lisa was warm and supportive but also straightforward about weaknesses. To this day I look at some of the poems in my book and remember an edit Lisa suggested. Her edits were the opposite of clipping the poem’s wings. They were trimmings that really helped those birds to fly.”

—Phyllis Meshulam, author of Land of My Father’s War

“Lisa combines the love of a reader and the passion of an artist in her poetry editing. Her breadth of knowledge and eye for detail bring a wealth of editing skill and poetic art to her feedback—an invaluable combination.”

—Lisa Alden

“She holds my hand when it’s needed. She tells me why something works or doesn’t. She guides, she nudges, she listens, she informs, and she encourages me to press on. Working with Lisa gives me the sense that not only can I take off on my first solo flight, but I’ll be able to land the damned thing.”

—Carlin Jardine

Process

We start with an initial Zoom meeting to get to know each other, clarify goals, and discuss your work—or, if you prefer, dive right in on a project.

Feedback on individual poems

  • You email me a packet of ~5-10 poems. I respond with in-depth line edits plus larger-scope comments—anything from Looks like this poem is working in this tradition, so consider X to Relineated here because Y and Check out poem Z for its take on ABC.
  • Many writers schedule a Zoom meeting in addition to, or instead of, written feedback.

Manuscript development

  • You email me your pile o’ poems/manuscript-in-progress. I read with a eye toward strengths, voice, connections, potential additions or cuts, and recommended focus for our work together, then send you a ~500-word feedback letter.
  • We meet for an hour to discuss the work, my feedback, your goals. I follow up with an initial poem selection and order, plus call notes as needed.
  • After that, we focus on whatever your manuscript needs—line edits/feedback on individual poems, refining poem selection and ordering, proofreading, formatting, and/or manuscript submissions.

Other possibilities

  • MFA application support and editing
  • Craft, personal, academic, and/or hybrid essays, flash essay or fiction, other poetry-adjacent prose
  • Reading, discussion, and feedback around one or more specific craft issues
  • Regular weekly or monthly meetings, your choice of focus


Please contact me if you’d like to discuss working together.

Classes & Workshops

[In the behavior of termites] ”it is the product of work itself that provides both the stimulus and instructions for further work.” —Lewis Thomas, The Lives of a Cell

I lead writing classes and workshops via Zoom, through The Writing Salon and Hugo House, and at conferences and retreats. I also work one on one with individual poets.

Follow me on Substack for news of upcoming classes and events.

Vote now for the classes and workshops you want most (2 minute survey)

Ongoing workshops

Intermediate/Advanced Poetry Workshop

In this small, individually focused workshop, we’ll work together to reinvigorate our practice and refine our craft, with a focus on understanding what each poem wants to become and how it might get there. Get personalized feedback, reading recommendations, mini craft talks, and an understanding of what it’s like to make things and how writers tend to get stuck (and unstuck), in the company of a community of others committed to doing this strange and wonderful thing. 

Ongoing; choice of one or two monthly meetings 
Set of six 2.5- to 3-hour meetings $525
Starts January, April, July, October

One- and two-session classes

The Poems Only You Can Write: Identifying and Embracing What Sets Your Work Apart

The most powerful poems are sui generis – and each of us has aspects of our work that are like no one else’s. We’ll work together to explore and expand the terrain of our work, through the lenses of our personal aesthetic(s) and obsessions. We’ll practice multiple ways of using these factors to inspire new directions, generate new work, offer more productive and authentic feedback, and ultimately help you generate the compelling, distinctive poems that only you can write.

One 3-hour meeting $100
Two 3-hour meetings $180

Where to Begin: The Art and Craft of the Poem Title 

A great title can draw the reader into a poem, guide the way, and open it up—sometimes all at once. But poems can also be undercut by vague or lackluster titling, and many writers aren’t sure how or where to begin. In this three-hour workshop, we’ll explore the relationships between poems and their titles, discuss several intriguing examples, then play with techniques for titling our own work. Bring 5–10 poem drafts to work with during class.

One 3-hour meeting $100
Two 3-hour meetings $180

Forming Form: Line and Shape in Free-Verse Poems

Intermediate/Advanced | For poets working in so-called free verse, the shape of a poem is a question that must be asked with every new piece. In this class, we’ll explore techniques for exploring, developing, and refining poetic form. What are the effects of our choices? Bring three poems in progress; we’ll use discussion, reading, and formal play to help each poem find the shape it wants to take.

Two 3-hour meetings $180

I Stop Somewhere Waiting for You: Adventures in the Poetic Second Person 

The poetic you can be notoriously slippery—pointing to speaker, reader, or beloved, to “one” or the Other. Combine that slipperiness with the ability to change (and be changed by) the poem’s voice and syntax, and the second person becomes a powerful tool for poets interested in the speaker’s relationships with reader, self, and other. In this class, we’ll use discussion, close reading, and writing exercises to explore the many possibilities (and a few pitfalls) of you.

One 3-hour meeting $100
Two 3-hour meetings $180

Making the Leap: From Poems to Manuscript

How do you know when you’re ready to put together a poetry manuscript—and where do you start? We’ll approach manuscript-making from the inside out, using curiosity and serious play to listen in on what our poems have to say to each other. We’ll explore frameworks for thinking about sequence and structure, including what the arc of a series or book can tell us about individual poems, and practice techniques for writing and revising with a manuscript in mind. 

Two 3-hour meetings $180

Send It Out: Selecting, Ordering, and Submitting Poems for Publication 

You’re ready to send out your work. But where should you send it—and how? Whether you’re submitting poems to journals for the first time or returning tot he fray, learning how to order and present your work can give you a deeper understanding of how that work is received – and of how to foreground what sets your poems apart. 

You’ll emerge with an ordered packet of five poems to send to the journal of your choice, and a set of effective tools and practices.

Two 3-hour meetings $180

To Invent What We Desire: Strategies and Meditations for Getting Unstuck

Especially in times of uncertainty, it’s all too easy to become separated from our creative spark. In this 3-hour weekend workshop, we’ll use guided meditation, visualization, and writing exercises to identify and soften our own particular versions of resistance, and to reconnect with the parts of us that use language to create. Before the end of class, we’ll discuss what we’ve brought to the surface, emerging with concrete plans for diving back into the heart of our work.

One 3-hour meeting $100

Six-session classes (resuming 2025)

Poetry Generation Intensive

When generating new poems, it’s easy to fall into the habit of going back to the same well, never considering the possibility of multiple watersheds. Together, we’ll explore a wide range of techniques for generating poems that are uniquely yours. We’ll draw on our own and others’ poems; practice initiating, guiding, and expanding drafts; develop a repertoire of starting points beyond topic and image; and share our work with an eye to opening it up to further invention. You’ll emerge with a sheaf of fresh poems and a collection of tools for generating new material.

Six 2.5-hour meetings $480
Starts winter 2025

Poetry Revision Intensive

Writing is revising, goes the familiar saying. But often we take a first draft, in whatever form it arrives, and chip away at it until it looks something like a poem. Yet revision has the potential to be a much more radical and creative act. In this class, we’ll explore multiple techniques for re-visioning and revising poems, with the goal of helping each poem discover what it wants to become. You’ll have a chance to workshop 3 of your poems, emerging with 8 to 12 substantial revisions and a range of revision tools.

Six 2.5-hour meetings $480
Starts spring 2025

Chapbook Intensive

In this workshop, you’ll put together a chapbook manuscript to submit to publishers or self-publish. We’ll explore structural and stylistic possibilities, how chapbooks differ from full-length collections, and techniques for writing with a series or larger project in mind. Next we’ll discuss two award-winning chapbooks (which you’re encouraged to read in advance), practice hands-on structuring, ordering, and titling exercises, and bring what you’ve learned to create an initial manuscript of 8–24 pages ready for submission or self-publishing. 

Six 2.5-hour meetings $480
Starts fall 2025


Email me to book a workshop for your organization, or to discuss individual mentoring and editing.