About Wild Fern Writers
Hi, I’m Hannah Kuhn. Writing was my first love. In school, I wrote poems, homemade greeting cards, plays, and an advice column, and kept a diary with a tiny brass lock and key. About fifteen years ago, I found my way to PDX Writers. Gathering with other writers, responding to prompts, daring to read aloud, and learning to offer and receive affirming feedback felt like coming home.
The pandemic provided the gift of time to pursue a master’s degree in Teaching Writing at Johns Hopkins University. I learned how to create safe spaces for adult writers, harness the power of story, shape poems, capture memories, and so much more. I can’t wait to share it all with you.
Since 2022, I have volunteered with Poetic Justice, a Tulsa, OK based social justice nonprofit, leading poetry workshops at Coffee Creek women’s prison in Wilsonville, OR. I’m an Amherst Writers and Artists (AWA) affiliate and certified to lead workshops in the AWA method, as described in Writing Alone and with Others by Pat Schneider, Oxford University Press.
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In July 2024, my micro flash memoir, “She Knew,” appeared in Pure Slush’s Death, Volume 12 of their Lifespan series. Fall 2024, my poems, “Delirium” and “Mending,” will appear in Peregrine magazine, and my essay, “Fellowship Behind Bars,” will appear in Phi Kappa Phi’s Forum magazine.
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Why Wild Fern Writers?
If you’re one of those people who reads to the very end of the very last page, like I do, you may be wondering why I picked Wild Fern Writers as my moniker. Wild: I am drawn to the idea of wildness, of writing that is raw and vulnerable and fearless. Ferns: Ferns are native to the Pacific Northwest, this place I have called home for over two decades, and fill many corners in my garden.
Ferns grow in clumps, with arching fronds in every shade of green, but in the dry summers and cold winters, they become tattered, bent, and brown. I always feel hopeful watching ferns awaken from dormancy, tender green fiddleheads springing up in the understory of ancient Douglas fir trees, beside solomon’s seal and bleeding heart.
And writers. Wild Fern Writers was created as a welcoming space for all writers, whether you feel fresh and green or tattered and brown. Our workshops are offered as a safe place to stretch and unfurl your creativity in the company of others. I’m so glad you found your way here.