Emily Wall, B.A., M.F.A.

My passion is for poetry. I’ve been studying, writing, and publishing poetry for 20 years. I’ve been lucky enough to be part of a connected and supportive writing community throughout Alaska. I’ve brought many writers, including poet laureates to my classes and to work with my students. At UAS I’ve found the perfect writing laboratory: a wild and beautiful place, with a small but artistic town, and access to a broader community of outstanding writers.

I love teaching students how to write. In workshops with students I focus on craft and my goal is for every student leaving my class to have stronger, more powerful poems and stories. In each of my workshops I work to create a supportive, safe environment where students can bring their stories and poems and share them with other students. We laugh a lot, and sometimes there are tears over painful stories, but in each class I’ve been thrilled to see how students come together to support true writing communities.

Students who have taken my classes have gone on to publish their poems in journals, get into graduate creative writing programs, and have been hired in a variety of jobs including at the local NPR radio station, the local newspaper, and various non-profits like the Juneau Arts Council. A number of them have been hired into well-paying state and federal jobs in marketing departments, human resources, and other departments looking for strong writing and communication skills.