Automyth: Dreaming into Multidimensional Selves for BIPOC Writers

Class Description

This creative writing workshop centers mythical storytelling devices as vehicles for manifesting new selves and new realms for our writing. This course is specifically focused on how myth appears within Black people and POC communities, through mediums of pop culture, film, art, music, and literature.

We will unpack myth-making tools such as magical realism, folklore, afrofuturism, afrosurrealism, fairytale, and more. Together we’ll wonder: how can we ignite hybrid forms of storytelling that affirm our unique realities, especially across the spectrum of race, sexuality, gender, identity, class, and lived experiences? Where is the boundary between origin story and self-actualization? What portals can we open on the page by bending the limits of reality?

This workshop is hands-on and participatory. Each session will include writing exercises, creative prompts, and guided explorations of myth, magic, and surrealism. You’ll have space to draft, share, and receive feedback in a supportive environment, learning how to translate mythic and fantastical elements into your own stories. We’ll discuss themes such as social and systemic myths, superstition, monsters, spirits, spells, dreams, and doppelgängers, alongside creators such as Eloghosa Osunde, Mariana Enriquez, Akwaeke Emezi, and Ingrid Rojas Contreras. Thoughtfully curated media lists and original prompts will provide inspiration between sessions, so you’ll leave with both ideas and concrete pieces of writing to develop further.

*This program welcomes writers of all backgrounds and experience levels, and was created to center and support BIPOC writers within our community.

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