Hi, I'm Oliver.
I've dedicated my career to creating warm and welcoming spaces where poetry is not just a craft but a potentially transformative practice that anyone can engage with.
Over the last decade as poet and a teacher, I've realized two things:
1. Poetry is absolute magic. It's amazing what we can make happen with words, and anyone can do this.
2. Poetry can seem intimidating, and some ways it's taught can make the magic hard to find.
In my own life, I've honed a way of working with poetry that welcomes me back again and again, no matter what life throws at me.
And I've spent years nerding out about teaching poetry and have distilled what I know actually works into fun and welcoming tools and resources for anyone.
One decade after first entering a classroom to teach, I founded Spellworks to reach even more people with the magic of poetry.
Can't wait for what we'll do together!
Explore My Resources
"Oliver Baez Bendorf returns poetry to its origins of magic."
- CACONRAD
Oliver's biography
In the news
A few fun facts about me
Taught poetry as a college professor before starting Spellworks
Awarded a poetry fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts
Knows Gwendolyn Brooks’ poem “kitchenette building” by heart
Often has a woolly rabbit named Claude napping near my feet
Obsessed with tacos, baths, and going for walks
Can be found playing Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide” on repeat
