CLASSES
Pace Yourself: Manipulating Narrative Speeds
Wednesday, June 22, 2022
6 - 8 pm Central
via Zoom
taught by Sarah K. Lenz
Click here to register for this event.
Writers of all skill levels welcome!
We want everyone to have access to literary arts education, but we also want to compensate our instructors for the important and innovated work they do. If you are able, we appreciate a suggested donation of $15-$25 for this class.
About this class:
In this class, you’ll learn to identify the differences between story time (how long an event in the storyworld takes) and text time (how long the telling on the page takes). Sometimes referred to as narrative hydraulics, learning the 5 narrative speeds and practicing how to effectively calibrate them as you tell your story is key to sustaining energy, creating flow, and captivating your readers. This class takes its inspiration from Jane Alison's Meander, Spiral, Explode and Sven Birkerts's Then, Again: The Art of Time in Memoir.
Exploring Visual Poetry: Making Postcard Poems
Wednesday, July 20, 2022
6 - 8 pm Central
via Zoom
taught by Joshua Bridgwater Hamilton
Click here to register for this event.
Writers of all skill levels welcome!
We want everyone to have access to literary arts education, but we also want to compensate our instructors for the important and innovated work they do. If you are able, we appreciate a suggested donation of $15-25 for this class.
About this class:
Visual poetry has been described as “poetry that presupposes a viewer as well as a reader” (Willard Bohn). Further clarification of this creative mode mentions that a visual poem is, in part, “what happens when the visual qualities of color, orientation, iconographic suggestion, style, and scale, or the graphic potential for organization on a surface and through space, are made integral to the ideas that inform composition” (Johanna Drucker). In this workshop, we will look at examples of visual poetry from a few of the many tendencies within visual poetry. We will comment and discuss handwritten, typography, and collage poems, then work on generating our own visual poems using blank index cards as our canvas. Afterwards, we will share together as a group the works we started, then, if the participants feel so inclined, we can opt to exchange mailing addresses and mail the final visual poem to another participant as a work of mail art (see this Wikipedia entry regarding the practice and history of mail art).
Materials the participants will want to bring to the workshop Zoom meeting:
Index cards - postcard sizing =
Rectangular
At least 3-1/2 inches high x 5 inches long x 0.007 inch thick
No more than 4-1/4 inches high x 6 inches long x 0.016 inches thick
Writing materials - color pencils, inks, pens, typewriters, etc.
Visual materials - magazines, photos, etc. (i.e. for cut-up and collage purposes)
Glue, if intending to collage
Amherst Writers Workshop: Getting to Know Your Character
Saturdays, July 16th, 23rd, 30th, 2022
9:30 am - 11:30 am Central
via Zoom
taught by Alexis Collazo
$75
Click here to register for this event.
Writers of all skill levels welcome!
About this class:
When writing fiction, knowing your characters is vital to telling a compelling story. In this workshop, we'll utilize variety of prompts to dive deep into our characters and better understand their personalities, motivations, and needs. Each workshop will consist of dedicated writing time to suggested prompts, followed by the opportunity to share your writing and receive positive, encouraging feedback. Following the Amherst Writers and Artists method, this workshop provides a safe and supportive space to experiment with your writing and character development.
This class will be most helpful for:
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Fiction writers, writing in short stories or novels or who want to
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Beginning writers who struggle with confidence and writers' block
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Writers struggling to hone a character's voice
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Writers who feel stuck in a story and don't know what the character will do next.
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Writers looking for unique ways to build character profiles