About Me, About You November 7, 2022 By Event Details Date(s): Monday, Jun 19th, 2023-Sunday, Jun 25th, 2023 Venue: Collegeville Institute Categories: Writing Workshop Applications for this workshop are no longer being accepted. Applications were due by Sunday, January 15, 2023. “I write to record what others erase when I speak, to rewrite the stories others have miswritten about me, about you.” – Gloria Anzaldúa This generative week-long workshop aims to build an interfaith writing community by and for women of color who seek to write creative prose (fiction, nonfiction and hybrid forms) that is inspired by personal experience. Guided writing exercises and discussions will focus on generating new work rooted in participants’ experiences as women of color from different faith backgrounds living and writing in America. In so doing, the workshop seeks to expand existing and limiting narratives about women of color both within their faith traditions and in the larger culture. The workshop will encourage participants to generate new work and voice their struggles with the creative path. We will gather every day for discussions, to write based on guided exercises, to respond to one another’s work, and to respond to art shared by guest artists. Part of each day will also be set aside for individual writing, and evenings will feature community-building events. Facilitator bio Roohi Choudhry was born in Pakistan and grew up in southern Africa and the Middle East. She worked for a decade as a researcher in criminal justice reform, public policy, and community health, and has taught creative writing in drug treatment settings and public libraries as well as to cancer survivors, community activists, and cultural organizers. Awarded a New York Foundation for the Arts fellowship in 2015, her writing has appeared in Ploughshares, Callaloo, Longreads and the Kenyon Review, among others. An alum of the Collegeville Institute resident scholar program, she holds an MFA in fiction from the University of Michigan and now teaches fiction and memoir in New York City as well as online. Find out more at brooklynstani.com Plan for the Week Day 1 – June 19: Travel Day. Introductions, personal storytelling. Day 2 – June 20: Interrogating place and community. Day 3 – June 21: Stories of my faith, stories of me. Day 4 – June 22: Guest artist discusses their work. Day 5 – June 23: Individual vs. collective storytelling. Day 5 Evening: Guest artist discusses their work. Day 6 – June 24: Writing from the margins. Day 7 – June 25: Travel Day. Who May Apply? Self-identifying women of color, creative writers (primarily prose) of all levels. This workshop is limited to 9 participants. Application Process: Applications for this workshop are no longer being accepted. Applications were due by Sunday, January 15, 2023.
