Embodied Writing: Sense and Nonsense

Class Description

Are we going too fast? Is it too stuffy in here? Does this soup taste like childhood or does it just need salt? Our answers aren't just based in opinion, but in our embodied experiences of the world. Too often, those embodied experiences are left out of the writing process and in the white space of the page.

In this generative writing workshop, we'll take a new approach to writing rooted in the body. In-class exercises informed by actor training, vocal work, and mindfulness techniques will help us cultivate a sense of play in our writing and connect to our hearts and guts as well as our heads, subverting our self-critical responses. This same somatic awareness will help us connect to characters, worlds, forms, and themes in new ways. What happens when we tap into instinct, rather than logic, to map and shape our work? What happens when we let the body speak through our senses and without trying to make it "make sense"?

As we meet over Zoom, you'll have the opportunity to connect with others while exploring and experimenting with your embodied creativity within the safe container of your own space. Class exercises will draw from both prose and poetry. You'll have opportunities to share work-in-progress for supportive, inquisitive and playful feedback.

Note: This class invites all bodies and ways of experiencing, all minds and ways of expressing. Exercises will not be physically intensive and will allow modifications for every body. Please feel free to reach out to the instructor with any questions.

Class Format

This class will take place using Zoom videoconferencing. About 15 minutes before your class is scheduled to begin, you'll receive an email from your instructor with a link to join the class meeting!

Scholarship Information

Thanks to the excellent literary citizenship of our donors, scholarships are available for all GrubStreet classes. To apply, click the gray "APPLY FOR SCHOLARSHIP" button. In order to be considered for a scholarship, you must complete your application at least one week before the start date of a class. Please await our scholarship committee's decision before registering for the class. We cannot hold spots in classes, so the sooner you apply, the better. Scholarships cannot be applied retroactively.

For more more detailed information about GrubStreet scholarships, including how to contribute to scholarship funds for other students, click here.