Richard Goodman

Creative Services

Richard Goodman has over thirty years as a professional writer and teacher of writing. He's taught writing in New York, Maine, Kentucky and New Orleans, both to workshops and to individuals. From this long experience, he wrote The Soul of Creative Writing. The poet and memoirst Molly Peacock said about the book, "The Soul of Creative Writing is a wonderbook of meditative instruction. Goodman's sympathy for the writer's dilemma, the warmth of his urging, the brightness of his enthusiasms all remind us that courage lies inside encouragement. Like the best teaching from the most inspired teachers, it's simply invaluable." Richard offers insightful, specific feedback about your work with a variety of possibilities for working together—from a general overview to line-by-line editing. Feel free to contact Richard at richardgoodman711@gmail.com.

Selected Works

French Dirt: The Story of a Garden in the South of France

"I possess a deep prejudice against anything written by Anglo-Saxons about their lives in or near French villages. So, Richard, I thank you for breaking the spell. I like very much what you wrote."

–M.F.K. Fisher

"Goodman borrows a plot of land on which to grow a garden, a project that his neighbors view first with curiosity, then with sympathy and a deepening sense of involvement. There's a genuine sweetness about the way the cucumbers and tomatoes bridge the divide of nationality."

-Francine Prose, New York Times

The Gulf South: An Anthology of Environmental Writing

"It is an arduous task to compile an anthology that attempts to capture the essence of the Gulf South and its environs in the modern era, but the editors have done the near-impossible task in their new collection."

--Liz Skilton, U. Lousiana at Lafayette

A New York Memoir

"One can learn much from this man who feels tender toward cobblestones and old women, nostalgic about a daughter's childhood, frightened at the prospect of dying alone—a rare individual who, with honesty, sensuousness, and keen observation, turns yearning and remembrance into art."

–Susan Vreeland, author of Girl in Hyacinth Blue

The Soul of Creative Writing

"Richard Goodman’s marvelous book, The Soul of Creative Writing, will instruct, delight, edify, challenge, reassure, and guide any student of writing to a personal best."

–Molly Peacock, author of Cornucopia: New & Selected Poems

Quick Links

The Book That Changed My Life