College Writing Programs Lecturers Bridgette Portman and Michal Reznizki discuss their writing projects and processes.
Work they read: In this episode of Berkeley Writers at Work, College Writing Programs lecturers Bridgette Dutta Portman and Michal Reznizki read from their recently published works and discuss the intersections between creativity, pedagogy, and parenthood.
Portman, a playwright and novelist, shares an excerpt from The Twin Stars, the first book in her young adult fantasy trilogy The Coseema Saga. Blending rich worldbuilding with themes of anxiety and self-discovery, her reading offers a glimpse into the imaginative landscapes that drive her fiction. Reznizki reads from the introduction to Dynamic Activities for First-Year Composition, an edited collection she co-authored with David Coad. The book provides hands-on classroom exercises for writing instructors, offering a practical resource to make composition teaching more engaging and effective.
Their conversation explores how writers approach different genres—fiction and academic writing—through structure, imagination, and process. They discuss outlining, note-taking, revision, and the balance between planning and creativity. Both share how their experiences as teachers shape their writing practices and how their writing, in turn, influences the way they teach students about process, revision, and confidence.
Portman and Reznizki also reflect on how parenthood has reshaped their identities as writers and educators. They describe how raising young children has changed their time management, inspired creativity, and deepened their empathy in the classroom. The episode closes with both authors looking ahead—Portman toward a new young adult sci-fi novel set on Mars, and Reznizki continuing to share and promote her collaborative work on writing pedagogy.
Together, their conversation celebrates the creative and professional balance at the heart of Berkeley’s College Writing Programs, where writing, teaching, and life intertwine.
