Susan Vespoli

I am a devout believer in the power of writing to heal/transform/illuminate. After many years running a Montessori school, I earned my MFA in poetry and nonfiction.

In 2018, I discovered Laurie and the Wild Writing method and thought, eureka! This is what I’ve been looking for. I so believe in the power of this practice. After finishing the Wild Writing Teacher Training in 2019, I began to lead virtual writing circle workshops based on Wild Writing for writers.com. I love watching people bloom as they let their words flow unedited into their journals.

I continue to write my own essays and poems, most of which emerge in rough form via the Wild Writing technique. My work has been published in Rattle, Nailed Magazine, Anti-Heroin Chic, Nasty Women Poets: An Unapologetic Anthology of Subversive Verse, and others. I have two poetry books, Blame It on the Serpent (Finishing Line Press, Jan. 2022) and Cactus as Bad Boy (Kelsay Books, Aug. 2022), and two chapbooks by Dancing Girl Press.

I live in Phoenix, Arizona with three mostly mellow rescue dogs: Frida, Sasha, and LuLu.

Kimmy Moss

Up until discovering Wild Writing in 2020, I spent the majority of my life sprinting around a soccer field or track, in pursuit of high performance and peak physical fitness. I was a two-sport Division I NCAA athlete at George Mason University, where I earned both my BA and MA in Communication. I’ve coached competitive soccer and strength & conditioning, taught Communication to college students and English to high schoolers, and even created LA’s first comprehensive breathwork, ice bath & sauna program, Breath & Exposure.
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 During the 2022 Wild Writing Teacher Training, Laurie nicknamed me “Teenage Sunshine in a Bottle.” About that… it’s so accurate it’s pretty funny. I’m a high-voltage human with an infectious spunk, a lover of language and public speaking, and a fierce protector of holding interpersonal space. All this to say, no amount of trophies or titles I’ve ever accumulated are worth a fraction of the peace of mind I unlocked when I finally retired from perfectionism, thanks to Laurie’s guidance, and the magical practice that is Wild Writing.

So, consider me your Authenticity Doula, reporting for duty! Wild Writing is the most impactful, nourishing, and best contributor to holistic health that I’ve ever come across. I look forward to sharing it with you.

Tammy Delatorre

I love writing – it’s my most natural mode of expression and solace during dark times. Whenever something difficult is going on, the blank page serves as my reliable confidant. I found Laurie Wagner in 2010, and I’ve been inspired by her Wild Writing technique, using poetry to open us up to our own stories.

I grew up on the Big Island of Hawai’i  and now live in Los Angeles. As an Asian American, I find culture and a sense of place are important to my writing. I’ve taken many musings that I started in Wild Writing and shaped them into poems, essays, creative nonfiction, memoir, short stories, and hybrid pieces.

I’ve completed and sold my first memoir and am now working on my next book projects. I earned a Steinbeck Fellowship, a grant from the Barbara Deming Memorial Fund, a partial fellowship to the Summer Literary Series in Tbilisi, Georgia, and a Writing by Writers Residency. Author Cheryl Strayed selected my essay, “Out of the Swollen Sea,” for the Payton Prize. I am a three-time Pushcart Prize nominee and twice recognized for Notable Essays in the Best American Essays. My writing has appeared in Los Angeles Times, Good Housekeeping, Salon, Vice, The Rumpus, and many other venues.

Mollie McNeil

The day I wandered into Laurie Wagner’s Wild Writing class ten years ago in Berkeley, California, a new career for me as a writer, teacher and workshop leader was jump-started. Initially, I found riffing off lines of poetry and sharing my fresh words with others daunting and uncomfortable. I was a self-conscious perfectionist and my doctoral program in English left me bruised from nonstop critique. But once I relaxed and trusted the nonjudgmental format of the class, beautiful things began to happen. Writing quickly forced me to let my hair down, explore new ideas, joke around, ask questions and take risks. Soon, writing became easy, fun and freeing. By the end of the class, sharing intimate stories in community became as energizing and creative as dancing or singing.

Through Wild Writing, I found my authentic voice, zeroed in on key personal themes, and eventually turned my emotional truths into fictional characters.  I have now published seven short stories, a personal essay and am just finishing up a novel. None of this would have happened without the confidence I gained in my Wild Writing classes. And as a side bonus, I made good friends who have shared their flourishing writing journeys with me.