FEEDBACK FROM THOSE WHO'VE TAKEN THE LABS:

I have known Matthew for a few years now and I can easily say that he is one of the most inspirational teachers I have ever had.  His life revolves around writing; finding inspiration in sculpture, dance, and music.  His attention to the beauty of everyday life is brought to the Douglass Lab classes.  The lab answers the questions every aspiring writer asks "What now?"  "Where do I begin?"  If you are stuck in the middle of a story and need a nudge in the right direction or you are just trying writing out for the first time I highly recommend the Douglass Street Lab to get those creative juices flowing.  —Miya Reekers

Matthew Clark Davison's passion for reading, writing, creativity, and excellence are contagious. I highly recommend The Lab, his 8-week writing program. Expect to be stimulated and enriched by the readings, discussions, and writing prompts. I left every session of The Lab feeling inspired and rewarded, brimming with the possibilities of our words, with the possibilities of the right word at the right moment. —Ethel Rohan, author of Cut Through the Bone

Matthew is a rare breed in writing instructor. His talent and passion for writing is rivaled by his talent and passion for teaching. It behooves any aspiring or established writer to seek out Matthew's coaching. —Mark Dungey

Matthew is a treasure. He touches his students with his wit and wisdom…his writing prompts helped me reach deep down to rediscover events I had forgotten, and helped me bring them to the page in surprising ways. The best writing workshop in all the Bay Area! —Ricky Serbin

Matthew Clark Davison brings the world into The Lab through other mediums, and then invites the actual world to behold the budding fruits of that exchange. I came into The Lab with an imagination and the urge to explore, but Matthew's direction shifts my direction in a way that makes me see humanity in a different light, and lets me be human in a different way. I would have never thought to write the origin of love for my character, or to use architecture to explore the layers of a piece. I found The Lab to be an amalgamation of the craft of story and the instinct of art. I look forward to repeating the experience. — Lorena Landeros Winter and Spring 2009 Lab Participant.

Matthew Davison has an amazing gift of pulling new and compelling material out of writers with the idea that we simply must take risks with our work - whether in subject matter, form, the editing process, or exposing our work to a larger community. Matthew’s enthusiasm and commitment to the writing process is contagious. Because of his invaluable instruction and feedback, my writing explored new, exciting and provocative depths during his 8-week lab. — Liz Tucker, Fall '08 Douglass St. Lab Participant.

After 8-weeks with Matthew, the act and pleasure of writing have woven their way back into my life. The Lab helped me make a direct connection to my creative vision. His facilitation style and creative prompts were invaluable to building confidence and trust in my own voice. Matthew's lab was not just about learning the craft; it was about being in an environment that allowed creativity to flow. — Jennifer Hasegawa, Spring ’08 Douglass Street Lab Participant

Receiving instruction from Matthew Davison reaps benefits that work double-time! Not only will you get skilled and effective guidance to strengthen your writing, you will receive it from someone who is whole-heartedly invested and committed to your specific goals and desires. Further, he teaches his students how to read more effectively, which undoubtedly makes us better writers. — Steve Dershimer, Winter & Spring 2008 Douglass Street Participant.

Matthew is an insightful, uniquely personal instructor with an understated yet well-prepared and confident approach. Not only did I improve my writing craft and critical reading skills, but the vibe was devoid of pretension, filled with helpful, supportive discussion, and never devolved into the hollow kum-ba-ya that does no serious writer any good. Beginning to well-seasoned writers are well served by Douglass Street. — John Yi, Spring ’08 Douglass Street Lab Participant.

Matthew’s workshop fit in perfectly with my schedule and opened an extremely productive space for my writing. It was great to hear other participants’ interpretations of the creative prompts. Matthew’s facilitation mixed beautiful examples of theory with practical application of concepts, always with a smile. I found it very applicable and looked forward to the workshop each week. This is a great opportunity for anyone who wants to explore their own writing in the company of like-minded folks. — Anne Trickey, Winter & Spring 2008 Douglass Street Participant.

The workshop is a warm environment that fosters experimentation and expression. The writing prompts, discussions, and feedback gave me some great ideas; some of the pieces I wrote were quite a pleasant surprise even to myself. — Candyce Choi, Winter 2008 Douglass Street Lab Participant.

The Douglass Street Lab helped me find my creative voice. Highly recommended. — Rick Richman, Spring 2008 Douglass Street Lab Participant.

The Douglass Street Writing Lab isn't like taking a class. It's like sitting around your living room talking about your writing with a group of friends. Matthew's exercises were beautifully targetted to the group dynamic - no set curriculum here! Matthew listens to what's going on with the group and responds accordingly. The exercises took me to deep places in my novel and helped me get to the emotional heart of the story I'm telling. Matthew's characterization workshop helped me break through and clarify a scene that I have been trying to get right for more than a year. I left the workshop feeling full of the creative energy I needed to continue working on this piece and push on to its completion. — Diane Glazman, Spring 2008 Douglass Street and 1-Day Characterization Lab participant.

FROM THOSE WHO SOUGHT HELP ON MFA APPLICATIONS:

It's always a bit unnerving sharing a story with an accomplished writer and as a novice writer applying to MFA Programs, I found myself rather intimidated, overwhelmed and exposed. Matthew established a disarming sense of comfort that immediately put all fear and worry to rest. Our discussions were illuminating, and provided me the a means of uncovering the real direction of my work. He was able to draw purity from my words, revealing prose that carried much more substance and focus. He was always flexible with regards to schedule. Matthew's insight and expertise propelled me through this process with a comfort and confidence I was unable to obtain on my own. I cannot thank him enough and look forward to working with him again in the future. --Dan Horan

Working with Matthew has proven invaluable during the MFA application process.  In looking at my manuscript, he gave solid advise that would not have occurred to me otherwise, but more importantly, I found the required personal statement most tedious.  How to 'sell' yourself, how to position yourself, in the midst of hundreds of applications for the same program, was quite difficult, and only with Matthew's professional advice was I able to write a concise, accurate and creative statement.  What I came away with was not only a fighting chance at admittance, but also a solid personal and professional relationship with Matthew.  In the event that I get in to the MFA program, my gratitude to him will be deservedly a great deal.  --Sheila Neil

FROM THOSE WHO HAVE WORKED ONE-ON-ONE WITH MATTHEW:

Matthew enters stories with boundless curiosity, challenging the writer to find the deepest nuance of character and most taut story arc. He possesses the ability to hone in on places of unexplored tension and possibility--sometimes just a single line--but developing that one aspect can bring a vast depth or complexity to the story telling. Really it is the passion that he arouses within the writer about his or her own work that is remarkable. No matter how stuck I am, always after working with Matthew, I reenter the world of my story with a renewed sense of vigor and possibility. — Mary Michael Wagner, fiction writer, teacher, O. Henry Award and Pushcart Prize Winner

Matthew Davison is a rare talent. He is a gifted and versatile writer of many mediums; he is smart enough to be truly humorous, real enough to cut to your heart, and deep enough to make you hungry. In the critical process, Matthew offers wise and compassionate feedback. And for me, he has the depth of insight, craft in his bones, and a gift of communicating that not only empowers the work, but inspires the music. Best of all, in the sometimes dangerous “mix” of the creative and the critical, he makes me laugh. — Janice Mirikitani, Author of LOVE WORKS (City Lights Books), 2000 San Francisco Poet Laureate, Executive Director of The Glide Foundation.

Matthew Davison is a reader, teacher, editor, and writer of uncommon gifts. He has the insight to read a work-in-progress on its own terms, and the skills to engage the writer in a fertile process of discovery and development. You won’t find smarter, warmer, more stimulating guidance anywhere. — Michelle Carter, Winner of the 2000 PEN West Playwriting Award for Hillary and Soon-Yi Shop for Ties, Professor of Creative Writing.

Matthew Davison is a wonderful writer and a wise and sympathetic teacher. — Maxine Chernoff, author AMONG THE NAMES (Apogee Press), and SOME OF HER FRIENDS THAT YEAR, New and Selected Stories (Coffee House Press), Professor of Creative Writing.

Matthew Davison reads and offers criticism with the whole of his considerable intelligence, sensitivity, and good will. — Robert Glück, author of DENNY SMITH & OTHER STORIES (Clear Cut Press), Professor of Creative Writing.

The poet Wendell Berry wrote that a teacher’s “great function, or opportunity or obligation, is tomanage somehow to address himself openly and generously and invitingly to the unknown--the possible that presents itself to him in the minds and lives of his students.” Like Berry, Matthew Davison, an accomplished writer and teacher of writing, is concerned with possibility. He believes in potentials, potentials in the writers he works with, potentials in the work itself. A writer needs to possess a sense of optimism about his or her work. That's one of the prerequisites for moving forward with any written draft. A teacher of writing must possess a sense of optimism about student work. Matthew Davison's ability to see beneath the surface of a new piece of writing to what lies submerged within a draft is extremely valuable to the beginning writer or the accomplished writer who desires critical useful feedback. His astute eye for what works in fiction catches what others cannot see or are not willing to imagine. His care, patience, and sensitivity to the creative process contribute to his understanding of what type of critical feedback is most useful to the writers he works with. He has the ability, as an editor and teacher, to help a writer push work forward, to move beyond the initial creative spark to a fully accomplished piece of writing. I believe those who work with him are lucky to have him. — Toni Mirosevish, Professor of Creative Writing, author of The Takeaway Bin.

Matthew can spot the intrinsic emotional heart buried within an early draft and help you bring it forth, even if you’re not sure what you want to convey. Working with Matthew, I’ve seen enormous growth in my own work. He has a wonderful eye for the craft of fiction. —Katie Hern, author of Reunion: A Year in Letters Between a Birthmother and the Daughter She Couldn’t Keep (Seal Press).

Matthew Davison’s insight—combined with his sensitive, articulate feedback—has aided my development as a writer for the past six years. Working with him, I’m constantly inspired by the elements he discovers in my writing. Matthew is a hard, sincere critic, and the best of his students come away from feedback sessions more motivated than ever. — Ann Marie Aubin, Fiction Writer.

My four years writing with Matthew Davison have been an absolute gift. I’ve learned much from his respect and humor. His keen vision will help a student discover gems even in early drafts. His suggestions offer clarity and direction without shutting down imagination. He is capable of both celebrating a writer’s natural gifts and developing necessary skills. Above all else, he is willing to traverse unfamiliar territory and support his students in translating that whispering voice at the heart of a story. — Alissa Blackman, Fiction Writer.

In his feedback on stories, Matthew combines considerable rigor of analysis with kindness and an absolutely fabulous sense of humor, which makes working with him a pleasure. — Sarah Rosenthal, Award-Winning writer and Writing Instructor.

Matthew Davison has a discerning and precise eye for pinpointing the strengths of a manuscript, and a gift for conveying his critical insight in a truly constructive manner." —Y.J. Schonfeld, fiction writer, translator, winner of Playboy Fiction Award.

Matthew Clark Davison is an invaluable writing teacher who gives honest feedback while supporting your development and progress. He cares a lot about writing and hasn't hesitated to share his own experiences when I've needed to hear about the common struggle to produce good writing. And, throughout, he has not lost focus on what I need as I write, rewrite, and learn. —Sam Osherson, Nonfiction and Fiction Writer.