James Navé Bio
I am a poet, storyteller, manuscript consultant, and producer. I founded The Imaginative Storm Writing Project, designed to help writers at all levels build their confidence, free their thinking, and produce quick, tangible results that surprise and delight their readers.
MFA in Writing from Vermont College
Founder of The Imaginative Storm Writing Project
LEAF Global Arts Poet Laureate and Strategic Advisor
Founding member of Poetry Alive! Theater Company
Founded The Artist's Way Creativity Camp with Julia Cameron
Board member of WPVMFM-Asheville
I've memorized over 600 poems
I represented Asheville on three National Poetry Slam teams
I am a poet, storyteller, teacher, and manuscript coach. I hold an MFA in Writing from the Vermont College of Fine Arts. Having memorized over 600 poems and developed a unique background in poetic storytelling, I’ve performed shows and taught writing, creativity, and public speaking worldwide.
My latest work, 100 Days: A Poetic Memoir After Cancer, was published by 3: A Taos Press in May 2023. In addition, I have co-authored two Imaginative Storm books on writing: How to Read for an Audience and Write What You Don't Know: Ten Steps to Writing with Confidence, Energy, and Flow.
Through The Imaginative Storm Writing Project, my creative collaborator, Allegra Huston, and I have crafted a unique approach to coaching writers at all levels. The Imaginative Storm Project aims to help writers build their writing confidence and produce dynamic written material that will surprise and delight their readers for years to come.
I co-founded The Artist's Way Creativity Camp with Julia Cameron, the author of the popular book on creativity, The Artist's Way. I’ve had over 20 years of experience teaching creativity courses based on The Artist's Way.
Julia Cameron says, "James Navé and I have worked together for over 20 years. He has a quick, curious, and searching mind, plus a humanist eye for poetic detail. His work as a poet, teacher, and facilitator is an important force for change."
As an advisory board member of LEAF Global Arts, TEDxAsheville, and WPVMFM-Asheville, I bring a wealth of knowledge and expertise to these organizations. I also served as the director of The Taos Storytelling Festival and The Taos Poetry Festival from 2016 to 2021. In addition, I hosts a weekly podcast called Twice 5 Miles Radio on WPVM-FM, Asheville, KCEI-FM, Taos, NM, and streams on SoundCloud.
-
An Unusual Poetry Experience
I once recited a poem titled "Strawberries" by Edwin Morgan to a frazzled ticket agent, which resulted in her upgrading me to first class for my flight from San Francisco to London.
-
Most Influential Lines of Poetry
"I am a part of all that I have met; / Yet all experience is an arch wherethrough / Gleams that untravelled world whose margin fades / Forever and forever when I move." Ulysses by Tennyson
-
An Odd Sports Highlight
While in Nouakchott, Mauritania to teach poetry at the American Embassy school, I played basketball with off-duty Marines stationed there. Despite my best efforts, they wore me out in just 10 minutes.
-
My Big Fear
I’m afraid of heights. I get shaky when I see photographs of mountain climbers dangling 1000 feet above the ground.
-
Mistaken Identity
Once, on a windy October night, when I was walking down 21st St. between 1st and 2nd Ave. in New York, three teenagers thought I was Sylvester Stallone. They chased me down the sidewalk, yelling, "we'll get you, Rocky, we will get you." I escaped.
-
Greatest Accomplishment
Lifelong friends who answer the phone when I call.
“James Navé has an uncanny way of placing up a direct, bold, yet compassionate mirror. He asks questions that make me think, transcend my mind in new directions, expands my insight, deepen my perceptions, and encourage me to keep going.”