Maybe our job is that of the birds, simply to collect the soft things of the world and sing about it.
-Quinn Bailey
Poetry Mentoring with Quinn Bailey
Unlock Your Poetic Voice
One-on-One Poetry Coaching and Guidance
Whether you’re an emerging poet seeking guidance or an experienced writer looking for deeper engagement with your craft, I offer personalized one-on-one poetry mentoring tailored to your creative goals. As a naturalist, and wildlife tracker, my writing is rooted in observation, curiosity, and an intimate relationship with place. I bring this same sensibility to my mentoring—helping writers hone their craft while also nurturing the creative instincts that make their work uniquely theirs. As a published poet and MFA candidate through Pacific University, I bring over 10 years of experience in poetry writing, editing, and mentorship to help you refine your work.
How I Can Help
✔ Personalized Feedback – Receive detailed critique and guidance on individual poems, chapbook manuscripts, or full-length collections.
✔ Generative Writing Support – Work through creative blocks and generate new work through guided exercises.
✔ Craft & Technique Development – Deepen your understanding of poetic form, line work, imagery, and revision strategies.
✔ Artistic Sensibility Development – Learn to deepen your poetic vision and refine your relationship with language.
✔ Publishing Guidance – Get insight into submitting to journals, contests, and presses.
How It Works
Book a Session – Email me at quinnbailey.poetry@gmail.com or use the form below, to schedule your first session or free Q&A call.
Send Your Poems – Submit your work a week in advance of our scheduled session.
Meet via Zoom (or in person if in the Seattle area)
– Discuss your submitted work, receive actionable insights, revision suggestions, and guidance to elevate your work and grow as poet.
Receive notes on your work- Receive my written notes on your work after our session so that you can come back to them later.
Why Work With Me?
My approach to mentoring is both rigorous and supportive—I aim to help you refine your craft while also deepening your creative instincts and confidence as a poet. My poetic ideas are shaped by my background as a naturalist and wildlife tracker, and I believe that good poetry—like good tracking—requires patience, attention, and deep engagement with the world. In addition to my experience as a writer, I have over a decade of experience mentoring others in nature connection and creative exploration. I am the author of the award-winning poetry collection The Currents of the World, with work appearing in Terrain.org, Deep Wild, Camas, Big Sky Journal, and more.
Mentoring Options & Pricing
Single Sessions
Introductory Q&A Call (15 minuets) - Free
One-Poem Feedback Session (30 minutes) – $45
Full Hour Poetry Mentoring (Up to 3 poems) – $75
Manuscript Development Session (1.5 hours, up to 8 poems) – $125
Ongoing Mentorship Packages
3-Session Package (1-hour sessions, up to 3 poems per session) – $210 ($70 per session)
6-Session Package (1-hour sessions, for ongoing development) – $390 ($65 per session)
Mentorship packages can be scheduled weekly or monthly.
Custom packages available upon request.
My First Book
The Currents of the World
"Quinn Bailey has a poet's genius for words… He deftly weaves threads that bring the natural world closer, but also takes us on intricate paths that lead to the edge of revelation. Reading through keeps taking you deeper within."
-Michael Meade, author of "Awakening the Soul"
"Quinn Bailey is unashamedly in love with the world. His poetry is an
insistent, mesmeric invitation to the greater life Mystery is calling us
towards, alive with kindness, reverence for this 'world woven on a loom
of broken things' and the joy of coming home to our wild, awakened
heart."-Tom Hirons, author of "Sometimes a Wild God", and "Nettle Eater"
”Earthy, quiet, reflective ... this is the poetry I most appreciate and I think others would too.”
-Chris La Tray, Poet laureate of Montana, author of "Becoming Little Shell"
Book Description
In his first collection of poetry Quinn Bailey has crafted a book that is meant to live in your backpack, to be carried with you, as companion, field guide and friend as you traverse the rich wilderness of life. Inspired as much by the words of poets like Mary Oliver and Jim Harrison as by the songs of the trees and the birds, the poems within arise from a deep love of the natural world and call attention to the power an outer landscape has to be all at once, mirror, compass, and divination tool for our inner landscape.
Pulling from his years of experience working as a nature connection mentor and wilderness rites of passage guide, this book serves as a waypoint to anyone who is approaching, has come to, or is crossing a threshold and needs to be reminded that… “This world has only two true directions, towards and away. The big fear, in the end, is to awake and find that you chose away.”
Like most things, these poems are best when shared, especially outside, especially out loud, and especially with the more then human world.
Poetry
Read and listen to my poem “The otters one night” on Terrain.org here
Read my poem “Dream Hunt” in Big Sky Journal here.
Listen to my interview on the GOOD POETRY podcast here.
Watch me reading my poem “The Excavation of a Heart” here.
Read my poem “Out Here” in the 2nd issue of Deep Wild magazine here
Read my poem “Sustenance” in Shark Reef Magazine here.
Read three of my poem, including “The only two directions” on The Ravens Perch here.
“This world has only two true directions, towards and away.”
-Quinn Bailey, “The Only Two Directions”
Bio.
Quinn Bailey is a poet, naturalist, and wildlife tracker whose work is deeply rooted in the landscapes of the Pacific Northwest. Born and raised on Orcas Island, Washington, he developed an early and abiding connection to the natural world—one that continues to shape both his life and his poetry. His work explores themes of wildness, kinship, and the intricate relationships between humans and the more-than-human world.
His poetry has appeared in Terrain.org, Deep Wild, Camas, Big Sky Journal, and numerous other publications. His debut collection, The Currents of the World, was named a winner of the Homebound Poetry Prize. In addition to his writing, Quinn has spent over a decade mentoring others in nature connection through ancestral skills, bird language, and wilderness living. He is currently pursuing an MFA in Poetry at Pacific University.
Whether guiding others through the woods or through the creative process, Quinn is passionate about helping people cultivate deeper awareness—of the land, of language, and of their own artistic voice.
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Event and booking inquires
Events
(coming soon)