Reading Like a Writer: Queer Texts (with Caroline Belle Stewart) - ONLINE
Queer stories have always existed outside of mainstream narratives, and LGBTQ+ writers often must forge new modes of storytelling in order to express their stories authentically. From fragmented memoir to epistolary poetic novel to book-length erasure, queer writers are creating works that subvert expectations of genre as they assert complex identities. In this reading class, we’ll look at works by mostly contemporary LGBTQ+ writers with queer styles and queer themes. We’ll ask ourselves what people mean when they use “queer” as a verb, and how this gesture can impact an essay, story, poem, memoir, or other text. We’ll also look at texts to examine how writers negotiate queer narratives and tropes, like the coming out narrative, camp aesthetics, and historical events. We’ll receive optional prompts each week to help us create a new piece of writing that blends genre, resists categorization, or fractures traditional conventions, experimenting with various methods of writing. We'll share our responses to the prompts in class, if desired. Readings will include texts by James Purdy, T Kira Madden, Ann Carson, Nalo Hopkinson, Garielle Lutz, Cristina Rivera Garza, and other LGBTQ+ writers. Note, this class is open to writers and readers of all genders and sexualities and is not limited exclusively to students who identify as queer.
WHEN: 4 Weeks: Wednesdays, February 1 - 22 (6 - 8pm EST)
WHERE: Online, via Zoom video conference
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR
CAROLINE BELLE STEWART stories can be found in Gulf Coast, Denver Quarterly, Fairy Tale Review, Black Warrior Review, and elsewhere. She is the author of the chapbook "Husbandly Things" (Factory Hollow) and co-creator of “Mast Year: A Mystical Field Guide" (Mount Analogue). A recipient of fellowships from Monson Arts and MacDowell, she lives in Western Massachusetts.
WORKSHOP GOALS:
- Learn about a variety of modes of contemporary queer writing
- Familiarize ourselves with various styles and genre conventions
- Experiment with a number of different approaches to writing queerness
- Use optional reading-related writing prompts in order to further our own writing
- Discuss and consider texts in a group setting in order to apply craft lessons to our own work
WORKSHOP OUTLINE
WEEK ONE: HUMOR AND CAMP
We’ll look at writers like James Purdy and Tove Jansson to consider the vast range of humor and camp in queer writing, and how to use it our own work.
WEEK TWO: HYBRID MEMOIR
We’ll check out writers such as T Kira Madden and Jeremy Atherton Lin, and consider the vast aesthetic possibilities of creative nonfiction in telling our own stories.
WEEK THREE: SCI-FI, FANTASY, SURREALISM
We’ll check out writers like Nalo Hopkinson and Samuel Delany, and see how they play with horror and sci-fi genre conventions to tell queer stories.
WEEK FOUR: QUEERING BORDERS
We’ll look at writing that blends poetry and prose, like Ann Carson or Garielle Lutz, as well as writers like Cristina Rivera Garza who write across all forms of literal and figurative borders in order to tell expansive stories.
RECEIVING THE ZOOM LINK: For one-day workshops, we send out the link to attend the Zoom session 1 - 2 days before the event, via email. For multi-week workshops, you should receive info and the link about 3 - 5 days before. Please mark your calendars when you first register and look for our emails. If you don't see the email in your inbox on the day before the class, please check your spam and junk mail folders (and search all folders) for an email from joy@pioneervalleywriters.org before contacting us. We have found that very often our emails end up in those folders. This is based on your own email settings, and you can prevent this by adding our email as a contact.
ONLINE SESSIONS happen remotely, via Zoom video conference. All you need is a laptop, computer, or phone with functioning audio and a webcam. Those who RSVP receive directions and a link to "join" the session via email (please see above note about receiving the Zoom link). All online instructors will log on to the video conference a few minutes before the start of the session, so please plan to log on early if you'd like assistance! We'll do everything in our power to help you get comfortable with the Zoom format, though we are not able to offer technical assistance beyond basic Zoom orientation.
REFUND & CREDIT POLICIES AT PVWW
Because of non-refundable fees that we, PVWW, must pay for every transaction that happens, we are not able to give full refunds to those who register then withdraw from a workshop or class. If you withdraw from a workshop ten days or more before the start of the class: You'll receive full credit toward another workshop or class of equal value OR a refund minus 10%. If you withdraw from a workshop nine days before the start of the class up until 48 hours before: You'll receive full credit toward another class OR a refund minus 30%. If you withdraw from a workshop less than 48 hours before the start of a class or after the class has begun: We are not able to offer you credit toward another class or a partial refund, unless in the case of a medical emergency. If we have to cancel a class for any reason, you will receive a full refund, or if you choose, a credit in the amount of your payment, to be used for any future PVWW class. Anyone who does not specify whether they would like a refund or a credit for a cancelled class within 3 months will automatically be refunded. Please contact Joy (joy@pioneervalleywriters.org) for all matters concerning credit and refunds.