The Loft Literary Center

This is a lovely building with a lovely bookstore and a group of warm people. Plan to try their writing classes and make friends there.

‘Twas the night before Writemas, when all through the Loft
Not a critic was thinking, not even to scoff;
The bookshelves were snug with loving dust and soul
In hopes that Hemingway’s ghost would make us whole;
The writers were nestled all warm in their chairs;
While visions of next drafts waltzed themselves bare;
And Carol in her sonnet, and I in my play,
Had just snuggled our coffee and gave silence way,
When up the pagebook stairs flowed such leathered applause,
I sprang from my chair to see what life art can cause.

I’ve attended a few events (Minnesota Mingle, readings) and taken classes at The Loft. It’s a little bustling world of itself. I feel like there’s room to breathe, as a writer, that I don’t find elsewhere. It’s like a church for underpaid creative types. We worship pens and the sound of demure typing.
I applied for and was accepted into an Advanced Fiction Writing course. At first I was worried everyone got in because, really, who am I? But my peers were really my peers. They don’t just take your money and leave you in a room stuffed to the rafters with superfluous ellipses. The instructors care. The other students care. It’s good for you and good by you.

The Loft offers a great selection of classes and opportunities to meet award-​winning and emerging writers from across the country. It’s grown a great deal since its founding in 1973 and in its current space has become the literary center of the city through its diverse range of performances and national-​level conferences and workshops that have been held here. But watch out for the parking. It can be a pain.

This review is for the classes and not the space itself. First, let me say that I started taking workshops and classes at the Loft in 2000 when this area of town was dodgy and slightly dangerous. I’ve had some very, very good instructors and some pretty bad ones. The classes are affordable compared to what you’d pay at MNSCU or the University of Minnesota. Plus, the instructors are far better qualified than what you’d get at a community ed class.
Over the years I’ve taken the following classes:
Beginning and Advanced Screenwriting with Jim Levi– Jim used to work on a TV show called «Don’t Just Sit There» on Nickelodeon. He knew his stuff.
Beginning Playwriting with Kim Hines– Kim is a Twin Cities veteran to the theatre scene. An actress and playwright, she encouraged us to write rather than merely talk about writing.
Intermediate Fiction Workshop with Robert Voedisch– Typical workshop class you will find in an MFA program. Allows you to discuss and provide feedback to others. You get to workshop one story per class.
Advance Fiction Workshop with Dale Gregory Anderson– Another workshop class. You get to workshop at least one of your stories. If you don’t get to workshop two stories, you get to submit one to the instructor.
Overall, I would say my instructors were helpful, challenging, and qualified. Most instructors who teach at the Loft are published, have MFA’s, or have considerable experience in their chosen genre.
The students, on the other hand, can be a mixed bag. The Loft isn’t a school, so anyone can sign up and take a class. You can be sitting next to either a published writer with an M.F.A. from the Iowa Writers Workshop or merely someone who wants to write as a hobby. You might have to wade through some bad writing but the Loft can sometimes crank out good talent and you can meet some awesome writers as well.
Parking can be terrible because the Loft is located downtown and the Loft’s parking lot can fill up quickly so be prepared to pay for parking if need be.

Great place to learn how to write or to meet some great writers. They are known all over the US and the world for being a writing MECCA. I know alot of people who teach there and have taken classes there. If you want to know how to write or to refine your writing talents someone there can help you. Its just a great place for writers you should check it out.