For more than 30 years, Fred Poole traveled throughout the world into dangerous territories—from Haiti to Cuba, from Beirut to Angola, from Bangkok to Kuala Lampur—and wrote about it in more than a dozen books, including a novel Where Dragons Dwell and the exposé Revolution in the Philippines: The United States in a Hall of Cracked Mirrors.
In the mid 1980s, responding to a persistent sense of dissatisfaction, Poole allowed his life to take a more spontaneous and introspective turn. His explorations led him into years as an art student in New York City, followed by progressive theological studies and a master’s degree at Boston College.
Drawing from his most meaningful experiences as a writer, teacher, artist, and seeker, Fred Poole created the Authentic Writing Workshops in 1993. Since that time, he has led workshops every week both in Woodstock, New York, and New York City. He offers programs in colleges and retreat centers throughout the Northeast, performs his work on stage, and regularly hosts public readings by Authentic Writing participants. He is the author of Authentic Writing: A Memoir on Creating Memoir.