Families, however we describe them, are troves of anecdotes, vignettes, and portraits of our richest memories. How do we look inward toward these memories, clarify them, and then write about them? What questions can we ask to investigate the text of our past to translate our experiences into writing that moves? Students will study literary techniques to write powerfully and concisely about big turning points and also the smaller, unexpected situations that have shaped us in significant ways. We will read excerpts of writing on the topic of family across genres and deconstruct how detail, humor, and storytelling are used. This workshop is generative, so we will write beginnings of pieces about family with brief constructive feedback during the workshop. Surprises in writing from the caverns of your own experience await you!
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Details: Capturing Family Stories with Julia Grawemeyer takes place Wednesday, May 14 from 6:30-8:30pm remotely online via Zoom.
Prerequisite: None
Genre: Nonfiction
Level: All levels
Format: Craft Talk
Location: This class takes place remotely online via Zoom.
Size: Limited to 25 participants.
Scholarships: Two scholarship spots are available for this class for writers in Northeast Ohio. Apply by April 28.
Cancellations & Refunds: Cancel at least 48 hours in advance of the first class meeting to receive a full refund. Email info@litcleveland.org.
Work with the best...
Julia Grawemeyer is a translator and writer whose work has appeared with Schaffner Press, Levine Querido, The Kenyon Review, and Farrar, Straus, and Giroux. She is a recipient of a translation grant from the Centre National du Livre and was a participant in the PEN American Women in Translation Month Reading Series in 2022.
This class takes place remotely online via Zoom.
Cleveland, OH
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