Women Rising, Women Writing
Workshop Series with Lisa Yarger
Four Sundays
13.30 - 17.00
26 Jan., 2 Feb., 9 Feb., and 23 Feb. 2020
Cost: 135 Euros total for all 4 sessions
Participation limited to 10 women
This workshop is for women who want to write creatively but don't know how to get started, as well as for women who are already writing creatively who want to deepen their writing practice.
A big part of writing is trusting our thinking and claiming our voices. Writing also involves taking risks, experimenting, and playing on the page. Men's thinking and voices are still often prioritized in our societies, cultures, and sometimes in our families. Additionally, men are often expected to take risks and try new things while women are encouraged to „be nice,“ get people to like us, and play things safe. These factors most definitely impact our writing! Because of racism, classism, and other forms of oppression, women of color, women from poor families, and working class women, among others, can face additional challenges when writing.
In this workshop series, we'll examine the messages we've received about our minds and our capabilities as well as what we „learned“ growing up about writing and writers. We'll learn to use listening partnerships to examine some of the damage caused by sexism, internalized sexism and other forms of oppression. During each workshop we'll also use prompts (objects, phrases, etc.) for in-class writing exercises. We'll have the opportunity to share our writing with each other, and we'll practice the art of giving and receiving feedback. Between meetings, participants will be encouraged to use some of the ideas and techniques from The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron (for example, morning pages and artists' dates) to get inspired and to exercise our writing muscles. Above all, we're going to have fun!
This workshop will be in English, but both English native speakers and women who speak/write in another language are welcome to take part.
This workshop series depends on us getting to know each other so that we can build safety and trust. Thus it's important that participants commit to all four workshop sessions.
Feedback from previous participants:
•Even better than I thought it would be. I was hoping for tips on how to get started but it was much more: we built a little community. It was a great confidence builder to hear that other people enjoyed my writing and got something from it.
•Exceeded all expectations! I tapped into my writing potential. I hadn’t been aware that I already have all it takes to start writing.
•Since the workshop last year, my relationship with writing changed, in the sense that it is becoming an integral part of my routine. And that makes all the difference.
•The feedback sessions are the best part. I love hearing what everyone has written and hearing how people give feedback.
•This workshop gave me a lot of food for thought regarding sexism and the importance of writing as a woman. Plus it helped me keep my writing momentum going.
To register, send an email to Lisa at store@themunichreadery.com
Lisa Yarger is the author of the award-winning nonfiction book, Lovie: The Story of a Southern Midwife and an Unlikely Friendship (University of North Carolina Press). She hosts monthly open readings at The Munich Readery and is passionate about supporting others with their writing.
www.lisayarger.com
http://uncpress.unc.edu/books/T-7989.html
