Reading into Writing - VIRTUAL

What are we to read in times like these? In what ways do we process events through what we write? How do we create personal statements of courage, self-worth, and ever-buoyant joy? In this Fall 2022 session of Reading into Writing, we will be considering how writers create works of lasting meaning with nothing but the crafting of words.

Our books are both nonfiction: The Body is Not an Apology by Sonya Renee Taylor (2018) and the classic, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou (1969). Both by Black women, their writing, separated by decades, reflects on the universal realities of being human, and comes away from multi-faceted struggles with real hope. 

Reading into Writing will delve into how the writers create compelling stories while making us think and feel in new ways. These craft skills apply to whatever form your writing takes--fiction through memoir through creative nonfiction.

Sundays, Sept 25, Oct 2, 9, 16, 23 & 30, Nov 6 & 13, from 2-4:30pm ET via Zoom. Your facilitator will provide specific details regarding this online community prior to the start of class.

Participants are responsible for acquiring their own books (you'll want to mark them up). Editions used: Taylor, the Second Expanded Edition (2021) and Angelou, the Random House Trade Paperback (2009 or 2015) with orange/red cover containing sun and a single large black bird. 

CONTENT WARNING: Maya Angelou’s memoir includes descriptions of childhood abuse and trauma, rape, and racism.

Karen Novak is a four-time published novelist, writing teacher, and practiced facilitator, who graduated from the Conscious Feminine Leadership Academy (CFLA) in 2013. She describes herself as a "manuscript therapist," helping students and clients to grow their stories into the books they want to write.

(Image by Pawel Czerwinski via Unsplash)