REGISTRATION FULL: Please email Amy.Freeman AT writer.org, including
your preferred workshop title, to be added to our wait list. The
Writer’s Center presents Lead Artist Melanie Figg in a
groundbreaking symposium addressing the subject of mental illness in
literature and popular culture, offering free creative writing
workshops followed by a panel discussion. In addition to Melanie,
featured writers include Abdul Ali, Rocky Callen, Jenny Chen, and GG
Renee Hill, with an introduction by Mark Cymrot and moderated by
Patrick Corvington. The symposium concludes with a reception for all
attendees. All events are FREE and open to the public. Limited space,
registration required. The workshops are simultaneous, so please only
sign up for ONE. Scroll down to register! REGISTRATION FULL: Please
email Amy.Freeman AT writer.org, including your preferred workshop
title, to be added to our wait list. The Workshops | 1:30-3:00pm
Please register for ONE workshop using the form below. Workshop
registration includes admission to the panel discussion and reception.
Writing through Madness | Workshop Leader: Abdul Ali Living with
mental illness can be challenging. Writing, whether poetry or prose,
can be a powerful tool for unraveling one’s own thoughts. This mixed
genre workshop will give you the chance to explore what you think and
feel, and how to get it onto the page. The Spaces Between Us: Reading
Experiences that Bridge Understanding | Workshop Leader: Rocky Callen
In this workshop, we will dive into exploring how form and textual
nuance impacts our understanding of character, in particular
characters with mental health conditions. By doing so, we open up the
conversation of how we can portray their unique experience on the page
beyond the prose. We will look at the spaces between and around the
words to understand how things like white space, strikethroughs, and a
variety of forms and textual nuances add texture, feeling, and honesty
to the character’s experience. While these devices and techniques
can be applied to any character or genre, it is important that we take
special care as we construct these populations so that way we can
build a bridge of understanding. Re-connecting the Fragmented Self:
Healing Trauma Through Writing| Workshop Leader: Jenny Chen People
dealing with traumas, both big and small, often experience a
disconnection from their memories. Those memories stay frozen in time
and locked away, unprocessed. One of the tools people can use to
reconnect with those memories and process them in a healthy way so
that they are no longer frozen in a person’s subconscious is to
write about them in a gentle, objective, and connected way. In this
workshop, writers will use several prompts to journal about past
memories in a way that helps them reconnect with them. This workshop
is only recommended for those who have had enough distance from their
traumatic events and feel ready to deal with emotional subjects.
Please be aware that it may be triggering for some. Friends & Family:
Writing About Those You Love Who Have A Mental Illness | Workshop
Leader: Melanie Figg Loving someone with a mental illness can include
a range of feelings: loss, hope, frustration, worry, humor, etc.
Writing poems and creative prose that express our unique experience
can help us understand better, remove stigma, and create powerful
work. If you’ve been waiting for “permission” to write about
this topic—or want to explore it deeper—please join us for some
writing exercises, close-readings to guide us, and discussion. Healing
through Storytelling | Workshop Leader: GG Renee Hill We have a choice
to be empowered or disempowered by our experiences. In this workshop,
writers will identify positive and negative experiences they’ve had
with mental health and illness. In the spirit of healing through
storytelling, writers will choose two personal stories to write, share
and discuss with the group. The Panel | 3:15-4:15pm To attend the
panel and reception, please register for one of the workshops listed
above. Following a special introduction by The Writer’s Center’s
Board Chair, Mark Cymrot, our workshop leaders are joined by
moderator Patrick Corvington for a discussion on the way the literary
community addresses mental illness, how we get it right, and where we
need to do better. Reception to follow. The Participants Abdul Ali is
a poet, literary activist, and educator. His debut collection of poems
is TROUBLE SLEEPING, which won the 2014 New Issues Poetry Book Prize.
Ali works as a program coordinator of a Humanities initiative funded
by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation at the Community College of
Baltimore County. He curates a traveling monthly salon,
Works-in-Progress, and often teaches writing workshops at The
Writer’s Center. abdulali.net As the daughter of an Ecuadorian
immigrant and political advocate for immigrant communities, Rocky
Callen has experienced and witnessed the silence around mental health
issues and the dire need for open communication. Rocky Callen has
grappled with depression and aims to dispel the stigma with her voice
and stories. She worked as a behavioral therapist for over ten years
before receiving an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts. A BREATH
TOO LATE is her debut YA novel about suicide, depression, and domestic
violence and the tragedy of silence and secrets. rockycallen.com Jenny
Chen is a writer of nonfiction and poetry with works appearing in The
Atlantic, Guernica, NyTimes.com, NPR, and more. Patrick A. Corvington
is the Executive Director of ConnectED, an organization that insures
that all children, particularly low-income children have access to a
high quality education. Previously, he served in President Obama’s
administration as the CEO of the Corporation for National and
Community Service (the Federal Agency that administers AmeriCorps and
VISTA). Mr. Corvington was also a Senior Vice-President with Habitat
for Humanity International where he created a management and
deployment infrastructure for the over one million Habitat for
Humanity volunteers. Of Haitian origin, he took particular interest in
HFHI’s development efforts, assisting in managing a large-scale
housing construction project and over four hundred volunteers who
built 250 houses alongside President Carter, in Haiti. Mr. Corvington
served as Senior Associate at the Annie E. Casey Foundation has
co-authored publications such as Ready to Lead: Next Generation
Leaders Speak Out and Next Shift: Beyond the Nonprofit Leadership
Crisis . Mr. Corvington received his BA in Sociology from the
University of Maryland and earned his MA in Public Policy from Johns
Hopkins University where he received the National Minority Leadership
Fellowship from the Kellogg Foundation. He also received an honorary
doctorate from Hobart and William Smith Colleges, and as a naturalized
citizen was most privileged to receive the Outstanding American by
Choice Award while serving in President Obama’s administration. Mr.
Corvington is fluent in French and French Creole and speaks
conversational Spanish. Lead Artist Melanie Figg has received grants
from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Arts & Humanities
Council of Montgomery County, and more. Her writings have been widely
published. Her award-winning poetry collection, TRACE, explores many
traces by writing about visual arts, memory, myth, mental illness,
identity, and forgiveness. As certified professional coach, Melanie
offers writing retreats and works one-on-one with writers and others.
melaniefigg.net GG Renee Hill is an author, speaker and advocate for
self-discovery through writing. She has published a free-verse memoir
about heartbreak and healing, a book of short essays for quiet women
who want to be heard, and a mindfulness workbook for self-reflection
and personal growth. She brings her experience as a blogger,
memoirist, ghostwriter, and creative coach to the courses and
workshops she offers on her website, allthemanylayers.com . Thank you
to our supporters! This event is supported in part by a Creativity
Grant from the Maryland State Arts Council ( msac.org ).
culture
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26/01/2020 Last update