Write Time
Write Time is a free one-hour writing workshop led by a local professional writer. Write Time workshops cover a variety of genres, from poetry to prose to spoken word. Participants come and write, then stick around for Stage Fright and read what they came up with. Each month has a different theme and a different instructor. Below are the the upcoming classes and instructors.
Mastering the Short Story
If a novel is an entire house, then a short story is a single room. This workshop will help you furnish your figurative room in bold strokes and rich detail. Learn how to conceive and weave a captivating narrative full of surprising situations and unconventional characters, in a concise, to-the-point format.
Instructor: Angela Fountas
Meets: March 11, 2009 6-7 p.m.
About Angela Fountas
Angela Jane Fountas writes, teaches and runs WriteHabit.org, a Web site in support of new and emerging writers. She is also a volunteer at 826 Seattle and was a 2006 Jack Straw writer. Angela recently completed her first book, a collection of short stories.
Wordplay
In this class, explore new, stimulating avenues of inspiration, keeping in mind that writing doesn’t always have to be serious business. We will play a variety of word games, drawing from the philosophies of the Surrealist and Dadaist writers, to produce original and unlikely ideas that will spark your imagination, taking your writing to unexpected places.
Instructor: Clare Lilliston
Meets: April 8, 6-7 p.m.
About Clare Lilliston
Clare Lilliston has been a longtime fixture at Hugo House, working first as the 2007-2008 youth writer-in-residence, and currently as the youth programs intern. She was the creator and editor-in-chief of her high school’s literary magazine Avalanche, and was a member of the Seattle Youth Slam Team in 2008, which participated in the international slam competition Brave New Voices in Washington, DC. She will soon begin work on her first book, a lyrical prose exploration of her family history.
Poems of Night: Some Forms
Do you know what a sestina is? How about a ghazal? In this introduction to the world of poetic forms, learn to work within a structure to create pieces in which construction and content come together as a powerful whole. Limitations and constraints oftentimes lead to the best work, so put down your free verse and try some poetry from the skeleton out.
Instructor: Ed Skoog
Meets: May 13, 6-7 p.m.
About Ed Skoog
Ed Skoog's first book of poems, "Mister Skylight," will be published by Copper Canyon Press in 2009. He has been a scholar at the Bread Loaf and Sewanee Writers Conferences and was selected for the 2007 Lyric Poetry Award from the Poetry Society of America. He took a brief vacation from Seattle from 1998-2008 to live in rural California and in New Orleans, where he taught creative writing at Tulane and at the New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts.
Place and Self
Great writers such as Henry David Thoreau and John Muir have embraced the natural world and utilized it as a reflecting glass to examine human nature and their own psyches. In this class, learn about and practice the philosophy of nature writing from the vantage point of lush Cal Anderson Park. By observing the world around you and exploring your relationship to it, you will create rich pieces filled with detail and introspection. A relaxing summer session.
Instructor: Jourdan Keith
Meets: June 10, 6-7 p.m.
About Jourdan Keith
Jourdan Imani Keith, Seattle poet populist emerita and Seattle Public Library's first naturalist-in-residence, is a playwright, storyteller, activist and educator. She is the founder and director of Urban Wilderness Project, a community-based environmental and cultural restoration organization. Her memoir, “Coyote Autumn,” is forthcoming in the anthology “Women's Wonderland” from University of Wisconsin Press.
