RESHELVE ME
fall 2024
workshops & classes
chimeric writing workshop
Thursdays (every other), 9/5/24-12/26/24
On Zoom | 5-7PM PST
cost: $225-$300, siding scale
one free spot available
Description
“I long for a type of hearing—that is reading that is writing—attuned to detect other faint voices: those who will not ever become loud enough because if they do, they get distorted and lose texture.” —Daniela Cascella
What are the unwriteable forms that call to you the strongest? How does not-knowing inform your creative practice? And how to write about that which resists language? This workshop is a continuation and a deepening of my explorations in what writer Daniela Cascella calls “chimeric writing.” I embrace a pedagogy of the dysphoric, which involves thinking slowly, communal inquiry, and embodied meditative writing exercises. Our focus will be on reading, writing, and sharing shorter work (1-2 pages max) for a broad look at the different strategies available for writing the inarticulable, the illegible, and that which resists expression. Special attention, will be paid to hybrid approaches to chimeric writing, i.e. those which blend form, genre, and senses. Writers will share work three times with their peers. Authors we'll read for inspiration and example will include Rikki Ducornet, Cristina Rivera Garza, Renee Gladman, Alexis Pauline Gumbs, Yuri Herrera, Lina Meruane, Jennifer JP Perrine, Dao Strom and more.
a body horror class
Tuesdays, 10/22/24 - 11/26/24
On Zoom | 5-7PM PST
cost: $100-$300 (sliding scale, you decide)
Description
It's often said that body horror is popular because everyone has a body, and therefore everyone viscerally understands what it means for that body to be violated. But is this really the case? And does such a definition account for the different ways in which marginalized, racialized, multiply gendered and disabled bodies navigate space in society? While this class won't refute this definition of body horror, we will take a critical approach in an attempt to bring depth and understanding to the genre. We will examine different strains of body horror in an attempt to understand why body horror is having a cultural moment, what it says about our appetite for literature in late capitalism, and how we can hone in on the tropes and styles of body horror we want to employ in our work. Each class will be a combination of workshop, close reading, and discussion, as we attempt to take our body horror from simplistic and vague to precise and devastatingly effective. Class readings and examples will pull from Bora Chung, Carmen Maria Machado, Rivers Solomon, Tom Cho, Joshua Whitehead, Reinaldo Arenas and others, as well as nonliterary media such as video games, television, and film.
Deposits, Sliding Scale & Payment Info
Unless otherwise noted, a $100 deposit is required to hold your space. Payment plans are available upon request.
Deposits are not refundable, but I will apply them to a future class if you can't attend the series you signed up for.
In other words, be sure you're ready to do this before paying me $$$.
If a class lists the cost as a range (i.e. $400-600), then I trust you to be able to select the payment level that best suits your current financial situation.
Sometimes I'm able to offer a spot in a class free of charge. I will list below the class title if one of these spots is available. These spots are reserved for those who can't afford to pay but who are at a stage in their writing/lives where they believe they would benefit from some instruction. Just tell me a little about yourself, how you learned about the class, and I'll let you know if the spot is available or add you to a waitlist.