http://childpsychiatryassociates.com/molly-bruening-lisw/ After reading The Diary of Anne Frank, Susan began her first diary at age 14 and is still sustained by hidden pages of her journals.

Years later Susan found her way into California Poets in the Schools. She discovered that helping people play with words often led them to profound self-discovery.

Guided by prompts and gathered words, a teen in the juvenile hall wrote, “I’m a brown gangster colliding with death/I’m a rose, slamming love with hate.” In just 14 words, he described his behavior and saw that underneath it all, he was a rose.

Check out Susan’s Instagram for peeks into her creative life and journals.  You will find her @Susan.Wooldridge

To help people discover the mystery of words and discover their own depths, Susan wrote poemcrazy: freeing your life with words.  Published in 1996 by Clarkson Potter/Random House, poemcrazy is now in its 32nd printing, with 27 paperback reprintings from Three Rivers/Crown. Anne Lamott wrote:

“This is a wonderful book–smart, wide-eyed, joyful, helpful, inspiring. You’re going to love it, and love writing poetry more for having read it.” 

poemcrazy was once listed # 7 on a Penguin Random House list of 28 best books on writing. The College Board has used three or four chapters of poemcrazy to prepare students for the SAT tests.

Susan’s chapbook of poems, Bathing with Ants, was published in 2004 by Bear Star Press. Poet Alison Luterman wrote:

“…Her true subject is always the mysterious intersection of the human and what lies beyond our power to describe.”

Susan’s book, Foolsgold: Making Something from Nothing  on creative process was published by Harmony/Random House in 2007. Rachel Naomi Remen, M.D. (author of Kitchen Table Wisdom) wrote:

“Foolsgold? …in a word, beautiful. Beautiful, beautiful! And, of course, a book that may save your life.” 

Both poemcrazy and Foolsgold were Quality Paperback Book selections.

Susan has a B.A. in anthropology from Barnard College and an inter-disciplinary masters in art and writing from CSU Chico–where she developed a love for performance art as well as collage, printmaking and ceramics. She worked for many years writing jacket and catalog copy at the University of Illinois Press, and as a photojournalist for the Butte County Office of Education.

Susan has held workshops on creative language with thousands of adults and children first as a member of California Poets in the schools, independently and with Poets & Writers.

Susan holds workshops and talks at writing festivals, retreats and schools. After a one-hour workshop, a principal wrote:

“[This workshop] is the best thing that’s happened to me at Harper High School [in Chicago] in five years.”

For over twenty years, Poets and Writers (for many years in partnership with California Center for the Book) sponsored Susan on a yearly rural libraries tour. Susan has presented sessions in over 80 libraries in California. She recently led sessions for Poets and Writers workshop leaders in both Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Jamie Asaye FitzGerald, director of Poets & Writers’ California Office (and Readings & Workshops, West) writes:

“If Mary Poppins were a poetry teacher, she would be Susan Wooldridge, descending with a carpet bag (or rolling suitcase) of surprises—ripped-out dictionary pages, field guides to butterflies and insects, and word tickets—to help people of all ages tap into words as material for making, experimentation and poetic discovery. In the classroom, she manages to combine tactical brilliance with inspired invention, encouraging us to dive into the word pool of our own making. Over twenty years of Poets & Writers’ co-sponsorship of her readings and workshops have brought report after report singing her praises, and I could not agree more.”

Susan’s workshops have been featured in Poets and Writers magazine. Her work and writing have been included in The Poets Market and A Guide to Literary Agents (Writer’s Digest).