Past Classes

History of Neighborhood Classes

In 2015, GrubStreet started offering free and reduced-cost seminars throughout Roxbury, Dorchester, and East Somerville with the aim of further increasing the accessibility of our classes.

In March of 2016, GrubStreet partnered with Brookview House, an independent non-profit in Dorchester that works to transition mothers and their families out of homelessness (with a 92% success rate). GrubStreet contributed to Brookview’s educational services by providing weekly writing classes focused on helping these mothers find new ways to articulate their stories.

Today, we offer free writing workshops in partnership with the East Boston, Mattapan and Egleston branches of the Boston Public Library. We focus on making the creative writing workshop more accessible to those who have been underrepresented in it due to cost, racism, immigration status, language access, lack of access to transportation, and other barriers. We believe that these voices must be spotlighted with the range and fullness they deserve.

These programs are offered tuition-free thanks to the support of generous donors who are committed to our mission of ensuring all voices are heard.

Past Examples of Classes

Summer 2018

Writing Around the Table: Tortilla Social with Denise Delgado and Salvador Jiménez-Flores: Tortilla Social was an interactive printmaking and food workshop using a multi-functional tortilla press designed and led by Urbano Project artist-in-residence Salvador Jiménez-Flores. Participants of all ages had the opportunity to use the tortilla press to make their own text-art print and eat freshly made tortillas.

Translation and Social Justice | Traducción y justicia social with Denise Delgado: Boston has always been a city of many immigrants, and more than 50 percent of our population currently speaks a language other than English at home. When it comes to the public sphere, as well as education, the legal system, medical care, and social services, sometimes important--even critical--things get lost in translation. This bilingual workshop used creative writing prompts, principles of literary translation and simultaneous interpretation, and visual thinking strategies to spark discussion and offer new ways to think about language access. 

Spring 2018

Pa Rele Nou Mouri | Writing Personal Poems of Social Significance with Enzo Silon Surin: Sometimes the struggles we experience in life are the hardest to write about. These are the struggles that shape who we are and help us define our voice. This bilingual writing workshop focused on what impact sharing your story could have on others and if your words could make a difference to someone else.