This writing workshop looks at the power in our personal stories.
We’ll start with the gut—what do you need to tell, the memories, fascinations, and questions that live not in your head but your bones—and move into craft—how to tell our own experiences in ways that are equally urgent to an audience.
Pulling from both literary and oral storytelling traditions, we'll engage in a series of (fun!) activities to get our stories out of our bodies and onto the page, honoring the deeply individual needs of the writers in the room. Is your story part of a larger work? Is it something you've been wanting to write, but man, this stuff is scary? Let’s make it happen. Let’s get at your stories. We need them. We’re trying to remake the world.
Megan Stielstra is the author of three collections: Everyone Remain Calm, Once I Was Cool, and The Wrong Way to Save Your Life, the 2017 Nonfiction Book of the Year from the Chicago Review of Books. Her work appears in the Best American Essays, New York Times, The Believer, Poets & Writers, Tin House, Longreads, Guernica, The Rumpus, and elsewhere. A longtime company member with 2nd Story, she has told stories for National Public Radio, Radio National Australia, the Museum of Contemporary Art, and all sorts of theaters, festivals, classrooms, and bars (so many bars). She teaches creative writing in Chicago and weird, wonderful zoom spaces in your living room.
This event is sponsored by Artists Book House, with thanks to the Evanston Arts Council's Special Projects Grant.
The City of Evanston is committed to promoting a Citywide culture of accessibility and inclusivity. To request an accommodation for a program, service, or activity, please call 847-866-2919 to make an ADA service request or fill out a request form online.