This is an in-person workshop that takes place at Inprint House.
In The Situation & the Story, Vivian Gornick writes, “The subject of autobiography is always self-definition, but it cannot be self-definition in the void.”
This workshop is about filling in the voids. More specifically, this workshop will fill in the spaces around the self with family. It is impossible to ignore the role of family in our lives; family histories comprise so much of who we are, how we love, and the decisions we make. As such, it is natural for us to both avoid and embrace writing about and through our family members. Writing about our families is both difficult and easy, both cathartic and guilt-inducing. This workshop will play in this liminal space of avoidance and excavation, exploring the inevitable human complexities of the people who shaped us.
We will explore work that deals with various dimensions and degrees of family narratives. We will write through our difficult moments, enduring memories, and irresolvable conflicts with our family members. We will read, interrogate, and model work that fulfills the fullest range of these complexities including Brian Blanchfield, Kiese Laymon, Victoria Chang, Michelle Zauner, David Wojnarowicz, and more.
This workshop is open to writers of all genres!