Meet Ben & Wyn

Ben Rivers is an accomplished novelist, essayist, and educator with more than 15 years of experience helping writers bring their stories to life. As a long-time creative writing professor, Ben currently teaches graduate-level courses in fiction, nonfiction, screenwriting, and literary analysis, guiding students through the creative process from first draft to final polish.

Ben is the author of several acclaimed works, including the contemporary novel The Yewberry Way, and is co-author of the philosophical treatise Angst and Evolution: The Struggle for Human Potential. His earlier novel Lizard Dreaming of Birds earned praise for its poetic vision and depth of character.

Ben is listed in the Poets and Writers directory.

Beyond books, Gist has published influential essays and creative nonfiction in leading journals such as Catholic World Report, Crisis, and The Imaginative Conservative. Highlights include “Why Bother With Politicians,” “Art vs. Deceit: On Poets, Copywriters, Truth, and Lies,” and “Less Than Nothing: The World Without Mystery.” Gist’s poetry has appeared internationally in The Galway Review and St. Austin Review.

Students can expect an engaging, thought-provoking classroom experience rooted in real-world publishing success and a deep commitment to the written word.

Wyn Rivers has written for New Mexico Magazine and other journals, but her primary love is poetry. She is listed in the Poets and Writers directory.

Here's a short list of some of her favorite poems:

“Cactus Pad Event Poem”

• A playful, instructional narrative about transforming cactus pads into wearable art—originally featured in Glint Literary Journal

Three Poems by Wendy Sue Gist (Poetry Pacific) :

• “The Stirring”: A sun-drenched scene of girls, mangoes, mariachi, and swirling dust devils.
• “Iron Creek, New Mexico”: A dry, cow-pie–laced creek captured with sparse, elemental imagery.
• “A Gila Haunting”: A nocturnal, haunting soundscape blending wolf howls and mockingbird flute-like calls.

Four Poems in The Galway Review

• “Glitter and Dust”: Rain splashing on tin roofs, aloe leaves—brief but arresting.
• “To My Dream”: A lyrical reflection on dreams, love, and the boundary between reverie and reality.
• “Intimate Waters”: Evokes merging of souls with sea/foam imagery.
• “Blush”: Tender physical imagery of the body as a ritual of affection.

“Winter Hot Springs Soak” (Autumn Sky Poetry Daily)

• A sensory journey through geothermal bathing in winter, exploring relaxation, bodily awareness, and warmth.

6. “Tulips” (Grand Little Things)

• An acronym poem (T-U-L-I-P-S), celebrating the end of winter and the vibrant rebirth symbolized by spring flowers.

Chapbook

• Moods of the Dream Fog (Finishing Line Press) – a full collection gathering many of her themes and landscapes from the American Southwest.

Come and write with Ben and Wyn. You'll become a better writer, and that's what it's all about.