Writing Classes at The Carolina Fiber and Fiction Center

Weaver and writer Grace Farrell at the loom Credit: Marylou Butler

The recent birth of a new use for the Octagon House, the better-known  name of the Albert S. Potter House in Carolina Village, is one of the great success of our area.

The Carolina Fiber and Fiction Center was started by weaver Jan Doyle of Wakefield and writer Grace Farrell of Charlestown.

We have been writing about their course offerings and we are pleased to announce that Ms. Farrell is starting a new series of writing sessions on Tuesdays from 10 am until noon, starting March 27.


The 10-week course, through May 29 costs $250. Alternatively, you may enroll for any 5 weeks for $150.

Ms. Farrell guides developing writers using the AmherstWriters and Artists technique, which seeks to teach craft without damage to creativity.

This series of sessions will be designed for new participants as well as those who have attended one of Grace's previous courses.

Ms. Farrell will also be giving a demonstration class of 6 weeks in the University of Rhode Island Osher Lifelong Learning Institute for those 55 and older. This class is an introduction to the Amherst Writers and Artists method. It will meet Mondays from 2-3:30, April 2 through May 7. The OLLI course does not include individual consultation or manuscript reviews outside the session. It will probably be repeated in the Fall, but as a repeat, not as a sequence. Spring 2012 course listings for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute are here and registration information is here.

These classes have proven to work well with a variety of writing skill levels, from beginning to advanced. In class you may choose to read your writing or not, you may choose to respond to others’ writing or not.

Faith LaBossiere attended Grace's class in the fall of 2010 and says that “it gave me confidence and made me comfortable expressing my thoughts, in writing, about a difficult subject.” Faith was so positive about the 5-week course that she signed up for a second one. “Practice putting my thoughts down on paper, with Grace’s guidance, was very rewarding and gave me an important personal story that I could share with some close friends.”

Space is limited so contact Grace Farrell soon at gfarrell@butler.edu for more information or registration.