Class Description
If you're tired of watching the world go to sh*t and you're ready to speak up through your craft, join us in exploring activist writing. While journalistic forms are conventionally used by activists, creative writing (prose, poetry, and everything in-between) holds the unique power of visceral and emotional influence. Whether you want to write about the environment, poverty, education, racial justice, or other issues on the local, national, or global level, learn how non-traditional forms can embody your passion and anger.
During the first class, we will take a deep-dive into the ethics of activist writing. We will then read/listen to pieces from politically-driven writers like José Olivarez, adrienne maree brown, Alexis Pauline Gumbs, Maya Angelou, Denice Frohman, Marcelo Hernandez Castillo, and Joshua Jennifer Espinoza. Then, we will try writing our own activist pieces. Students will have the opportunity to work in various genres, and to workshop their pieces in peer-led critiques. Kayla will also offer in-class one-on-one mentorship sessions during which students can have a personalized soundboard for their ideas and dilemmas. Students will leave with a deeper understanding of activism, new tools for expressing their passion and anger, new writing, and a community of like-minded and socially conscious writers.
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.
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 detailed information about GrubStreet scholarships, including how to contribute to scholarship funds for other students, click here.
This class will take place using Zoom videoconferencing. After registering, a yellow Resources tab will appear in this section containing a link to join class. Please note that you will need to be logged into view the Resources tab.
Zoom Participation:
In our experience, the intimate nature of a writing workshop benefits from on-camera participation. Students are of course welcome to turn their camera off whenever they need to, but it is a community norm for cameras to be on most of the time. You can learn more about using Zoom here.
Zoom Accessibility:
You can enable closed captioning at any time during the meeting by clicking the CC button at the bottom of the screen. If you'd like to access the transcript after class, please make sure to let your instructor ahead of time that you'd like a copy.