Anna Scotti

Anna Scotti is the author of Bewildered by All This Broken Sky, a collection that was awarded the inaugural Lightscatter Poetry Prize in 2021. Ms. Scotti’s poems have been awarded the Pocotaligo Prize, the Fisher Prize, and many other prizes and honors, and have appeared in The New Yorker since 2016. She writes in various forms, but is especially noted for her prose poetry, which Ellen Bass called “suffused with beauty, pulsing with life,” and “miraculous.” Katharine Coles characterizes Ms. Scotti’s work as “wry and snappy, equal parts sorrow and bliss.” Also a celebrated young adult novelist and mystery writer, Ms. Scotti has guided many aspiring poets toward publication – and excellence. She believes in the power of poetry to transform, uplift, and inspire, and she knows that while inspiration is divine, most poetic excellence results from hard work, revision, and self-editing. Learn more at www.annakscotti.com.

Student Feedback for Anna

Anna was a very good instructor. She is generous with her time and energy in helping students to improve their writing. Anna’s prompts in class were very good and led to lines for new poems every week. She also offered real world experiences with literary magazines and publishing that I felt were very helpful. Jeffrey Shalom

Anna is an exceptional writing teacher who possesses a unique blend of warmth, understanding, and deep knowledge of the craft. Passionate about poetry and its transformation into prose, she is a kind and insightful mentor who leaves no stone unturned in helping students unlock their inner power as writers. 

With patience and expertise, Anna helped me edit my poems to their best versions. Her classes are fun, but you will work hard!

Anna shows you how to break a poem down to what she calls “the working parts-” and then she shows you how to use that as inspiration to write your own.

I learned so much working with Anna, and I’ve published four poems since our class together.