The Writing Party, Ken Waldman’s fourteenth book, is part writing manual (each chapter begins with a writing prompt), part memoir (about Ken’s life as a writer and teacher), and part full-length poetry collection (of poems about writers and writing). There are also several stand-alone essays, including Ken’s 2015 piece in Poets & Writers Magazine about making a living as a poet.

Written in response to long-time requests for a resource that documents Ken’s popular creative writing workshops, The Writing Party will resonate with, and be of value to, artists of all disciplines and experience, from much-published writers and writing teachers to anyone curious how a particular writer and teacher has gone about a life. But it’s more than an inside look at one artist’s process; it’s an invitation for any reader to join in, write a piece, then another, then many more. Ken begins and ends the book referring to the late writer and teacher, William Stafford. Like Stafford, Ken Waldman champions inclusivity, and strongly believes anybody can write.