The Muse Writers Center

The Muse Writers Center accomplished much in 2023,. We maintained our resource Center for local Writers, providing space for Writers to write and network. We continued to catalog our literary library of more than 4,000 volumes, including a large international poetry collection. This year, we continued to emerge from The pandemic with in-person, hybrid, and online events, programs, and classes. We provided 207 low cost creative writing classes and workshops which served 1,268 students (from age 6 to post-retirement). Tuition assistance/scholarships were given to 539 of these students, and we also awarded 4 college scholarships. In 2023, we utilized 81 contracted teaching artists and facilitators. The Muse vastly expanded outreach, bringing creative writing to senior living communities, youth programs and schools, and military & veterans groups, as well as ramping up a pilot program to use creative writing as a wellness tool for those dealing with domestic trauma, loneliness, disability, homelessness, severe illness, bereavement, and loss. Overall in 2023, we helped give Writers a voice, organizing readings, open mics, and Writers events that reached nearly 12,000 adults, teens, and kids. We also had The good fortune to enjoy approximately 97 volunteers who donated their hard work to help with various events as well as in The resource Center and with our online programming.