Commonwealth Word supports artists with full-service colony residencies that give writers a break from the daily grind of making ends meet while still producing honest work. Residents get the freedom of movement and mind to focus only on their work and dig deep into their practices while also having the opportunity to socialize and talk shop with other writers.

Commonwealth Word also provides fellowships to teaching artists willing to trade their arts education skills for space at the colony. Previous generations of writers were able to support themselves by publishing short fiction or non-fiction in periodicals or by finding positions in Academia. As Literature and Content continue to be devalued and de-monetized and Higher Education continues to foist classes on adjuncts who are denied a living wage, the career tracks of the past are not available to writers who insist on continuing to make their own art. Teaching Artistry offers a means of earning a living in a way that stimulates the artist’s own practice and provides real value to society as a whole, and winners of Commonwealth Word Teaching Artist Fellowships get the chance to bring their skills to the classrooms of community libraries and schools and be rewarded.