Creative writing is a tool for knowing yourself, understanding the world, and connecting with other people. Led by author Seema Reza and accomplished guest writers—including poets, memoirists, novelists, and storytellers—these community workshops follow the model developed by Community Building Art Works (CBAW) over the course of a decade of bringing people together in military and hospital settings. Each workshop is designed to help participants put their personal stories on paper in a supportive environment.
Whether you’re just starting out or have been writing for years, you are welcome; no experience is required. Bring a pen, a notebook, and an open mind!
Registration closes at 4pm Eastern Time before each session so we can prepare. Please make sure you're subscribed to Strathmore emails to receive the Zoom info.
Thu, July 18 | 7pm Eastern Time
Back Down Memory Lane
with Teri Ellen Cross Davis
This generative workshop will explore family and ancestry through poetry. Using close readings of poems by Etheridge Knight, Rita Dove, Lucille Clifton, Linda Pastan, and more, we will consider how the use of persona can examine, celebrate, and/or reconsider history.
Teri Ellen Cross Davis is the author of a more perfect Union, winner of the 2019 Journal/Charles B. Wheeler Poetry Prize, and finalist for the 2022 Hurston/Wright Legacy Award in Poetry. Her first collection, Haint, won the 2017 Ohioana Book Award for Poetry. She is the recipient of a 2022 Maryland State Arts Council Individual Artist Award and the Poetry Society of America's Robert H. Winner Memorial Award. She has received grants from the Sustainable Arts Foundation and The Freya Project and has been awarded fellowships and scholarships to Cave Canem, Hedgebrook, the Community of Writers Poetry Workshop, and others. Her work has appeared in many journals and anthologies. She was the 2019–2020 HoCoPoLitSo Writer-in-Residence for Howard County, Maryland, and is the O.B. Hardison Poetry Series curator and Poetry Programs manager for the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, DC.
REGISTERPART OF OUR JAMES BALDWIN SERIES
Thu, Aug 15 | 7pm Eastern Time
HYBRID! IN PERSON OR ONLINE
The Evidence of Things Not Seen
with Derrick Weston Brown
We have a limited number of spots available to attend this workshop in-person at Strathmore. There will still be a virtual option. Make your selection when registering.
The great James Baldwin, whether writing fiction, prose, or poetry, knew that truth existed beyond sight alone and that impactful writing does not solely rely on visual imagery.
This poetry workshop offers participants an alternative approach to writing, in which visual imagery takes a backseat to touch, taste, sound, smell, movement, and emotion resulting in poems intent on revealing the evidence of things that can't be explained through seeing.
Derrick Weston Brown holds a Masters of Fine Arts in creative writing, from American University. He is a native of Charlotte, North Carolina, and resides in Mount Rainier, Maryland. He was an adjunct professor of English and Literature at Prince George’s Community College and is full-time Creative Writing faculty at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts. His debut collection of poetry entitled, Wisdom Teeth, was released in April 2011 on Busboys and Poets Press/PM Press. His second collection of poetry, a chapbook entitled On All Fronts , was released along with two other poetry chapbooks in a bound series from Upper Rubber Boot Press entitled Floodgates Vol. 5, in March of 2019.
Learn more about our James Baldwin Festival.
REGISTERIN-PERSON EVENT
SEPTEMBER 14
A Day of Belonging
CBAW and Strathmore’s 2nd Annual community gathering, A Day of Belonging, will provide veterans, active-duty military, their spouses and caregivers, and community members with a day of professionally-facilitated expressive arts workshops, as well as performances and readings showcasing the work and talent of artists from the military and veteran communities.
LEARN MORE & RSVPRegistration closes at 4pm before each session so we can prepare. Please make sure you're subscribed to Strathmore emails to receive the Zoom info.
Check back soon for more information on instructors for the remaining dates.
Seema Reza is the author of the poetry collection A Constellation of Half-Lives and the memoir When the World Breaks Open. Reza has led writing workshops within correctional facilities, military and civilian hospitals, and schools. She is the Executive Director of Community Building Art Works, a unique arts organization that encourages the use of the arts as a tool for narration, self-care, and socialization among a military population struggling with emotional and physical injuries.