Devote a day to your writing!
As Dorothy Parker may or may not have said, "Writing is the art of applying the ass to the seat.” Well, we've got the seat half of that covered, now you just need to show up with the other half to our Spring Writing Retreat, Saturday, February 1 from 11am-5pm at the Cleveland State University Mather Mansion.
We'll have food and drink, chairs and tables, community for encouragement and accountability, and writing prompts in each genre to help you make progress on your project or to get started on something new. After a brief welcome, you will head to the genre room of your choice to get some brief writing prompts and inspiration from your genre leader: Robin Beth Schaer in poetry, David Giffels in nonfiction, and Ghassan Abou-Zeineddine in fiction. Then we will have 45 minutes of silent writing time for you to generate new work. Built in breaks between writing sprints will allow you to stretch, refuel, and chat with other writers before getting back to work. Knock out a new poem or two, draft a chapter of a novel or memoir, revise that essay or story you have been working on, and earn a reward for achieving your writing goal for the day.
SCHEDULE
11:00-11:30 Check In
11:30-12:00 Welcome/orientation
12:00-12:15 Prompts (Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry)
12:15-1:00 Writing Sprints
1:00-1:30 Break
1:30-1:45 Prompts (Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry)
1:45-2:30 Writing Sprints
2:30-3:00 Break
3:00-3:15 Prompts (Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry)
3:15-4:00 Writing Sprints
4:00-5:00 Share
Details: Winter Writing Retreat takes place Saturday, February 1 from 11am-5pm at Cleveland State University Mather Mansion (2605 Euclid Ave, Cleveland, OH 44115).
Prerequisites: None
Genres: All! Fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and more
Level: All levels
Format: Generative time with optional prompts, breaks, snacks, and sharing
Location: This class takes place at Cleveland State University Mather Mansion (2605 Euclid Ave, Cleveland, OH 44115).
Size: Limited to 100 participants (including scholarships).
Suggested Sequence: Follow this class with another generative writing workshop or a feedback course.
Scholarships: Scholarship spots are available for this program for writers in Northeast Ohio. Email msmith@litcleveland.org.
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...
Robin Beth Schaer is the author of the poetry collection Shipbreaking. She has received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Ohio Arts Council, Yaddo, MacDowell, and others. Her work has appeared in Tin House, Bomb, The Paris Review, and elsewhere. She has taught writing in New York, New Jersey, and Ohio, and she worked as a deckhand aboard the Tall Ship Bounty, a 180-foot ship lost in Hurricane Sandy.
Barnstorming Ohio author David Giffels has written six books of nonfiction, including the critically acclaimed memoir, Furnishing Eternity: A Father, a Son, a Coffin, and a Measure of Life, published by Scribner in 2018.
Ghassan Abou-Zeineddine is the author of the story collection Dearborn (Tin House) and coeditor of the creative nonfiction anthology Hadha Baladuna: Arab American Narratives of Boundary and Belonging (Wayne State University Press).
CSU Mather Mansion
2605 Euclid Ave, Cleveland OH 44115
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