Neighborhood Classes
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Update:
There have been changes made to the WDTS class schedule. Please read class information carefully and note cancellations and updates.
Han sido cambios en el horario de clases de wdts/autores a la vuelta. Por favor lea los detalles de cada clase con cuidado y note cancelaciones y noticias.
More general updates and information can be found on our COVID-19 Updates Page.
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Write Down the Street
Write Down the Street has a special focus on making the creative writing workshop more accessible to those who face challenges due to cost, language skills, lack of access to transportation, and other barriers. We believe that all voices must be spotlighted with the range and fullness they deserve.
These programs are in partnership with Boston Public Library and offered tuition-free thanks to the support of generous donors who are committed to our mission of ensuring all voices are heard. This program is also supported in part by the Mass Cultural Council.
Click on the links below to sign up for a class.
Types of Classes
Want to get into creative writing, but not sure where to begin? Get inspired with a FREE session at your local library. There are three types of programs offered so far. All classes welcome new and practicing writers!
Drop-in Classes: For about one hour, you’ll meet fellow writers, and learn to tell your story through fun directed exercises in fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and sometimes other genres or forms.
Multi-week Classes: These 2-hour classes meet weekly for three to six weeks. These regular meetings allow for more time to share work and give and receive light feedback. Students read and discuss excerpts of works written by new and established authors, and try writing exercises that deepen and expand their own writing.
*New! Ask a Writer: Office Hours* – These are open to anyone who wants to ask an instructor a question about a writing project, resources, opportunities, upcoming classes, and tips. Just come to the library and sign up for a 20-minute max time block. Unfortunately, advance reservations are not possible. Office hours time blocks are scheduled on a first-come, first-served basis.
Mattapan Branch of the Boston Public Library
Drop-Ins:
February 20th: The Dynamics of Dialogue Returns
March 20th: The Ins & Outs of Story Structure
Multi-Weeks:
Starting January 26th: Everything Nobody Told Me About the Novel Part 1
Starting March 4th: Everything Nobody Told Me About the Novel Part 2
Egleston Square Branch of the Boston Public Library
Drop-Ins:
January 19th: A Poem for The Occasion: Writing Poems for Special Days
February 9th: All of Me, Mini Redux! Writing About Our Intersectional Identities
March 16th: Cuenta La Leyenda
April 20th: The Prose Poem
Multi-Weeks:
Starting February 24th: What Shape is Your Home? The Hermit Crab Essay
Ask a Writer: Office Hours
These are open to anyone who wants to ask an instructor a question about a writing project, resources, opportunities, upcoming classes, and tips. Just come to the library and sign up for a 20-minute max time block. Office hours time blocks are scheduled on a first-come, first-serve basis. Instructors are now offering virtual office hours on the following days:
Office hours with Vero González: January 26th, March 2nd, May 4th
Office hours with Quentin Lucas: February 26th, March 26th, April 2nd
Applying to GrubStreet's Emerging Writer Fellowship: Info Sessions
Applying to fellowships, contests, scholarships and other creative writing opportunities can be intimidating, especially the first time around. Come join us for a question-and-answer session that clarifies the application process for GrubStreet’s Emerging Writer Fellowship as well as many other opportunities. Once you understand the basic elements of an application, you’ll have the building blocks to tackle most applications in the future.
Tips on Applying to GrubStreet's Emerging Writer Fellowship with Eson Kim: January 27th
Meet the Instructors
Vero González is a queer femme-inist writer and translator from San Juan, Puerto Rico. She has a MFA in Poetry from the Iowa Writer's Workshop, where she was a Dean's Graduate Fellow and a BFA from Pratt Institute, where she won the Thesis Prize in Fiction. She has received support from A Room of Her Own Foundation (Touching Lives Fellow, 2015) as well as Hedgebrook and the Rona Jaffe Foundation (Hedgebrook/Rona Jaffe Inaugural Fellow, 2018). She lives in Boston, where she is working on a hybrid book about intergenerational trauma, colonialism, and healing. Vero is GrubStreet's Neighborhood Programs Fellow for Egleston Square.
Quentin Lucas is a Germany-born, Boston-raised bookworm. After meandering through college on his way to a degree in Business Management, he then adventured his way through the US Army and discovered a need to follow his passion for writing. As a freelancer, copywriter, and essayist, Quentin has worked on projects with MIT and Vistaprint, and has written for publications like the Huffington Post, The Good Men Project, Blerds Online, and Fourth River Literary Magazine. While awaiting the fall of 2019, when he will begin his MFA in Creative Writing at Emerson College, Quentin is crafting the second novel of his fantasy trilogy and is considering a memoir about his military days.
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