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 Mission Belonging 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, June 19 | 7pm Eastern Time
Attention & Transformation: A Summer Solstice Workshop with Hari Alluri
At the core of the writing process is attention, and finding the versions of this attention that move us can lead to transformative experiences. As Patrick Rosal notes in his phenomenal book Atang, “Attention changes you. Art is one version of attention.” In this workshop—with a focus on the place where our inner worlds and the outer world meet—we will connect with writing that exemplifies transformative surprises of music and meaning, think about the ways we can deepen our practice, and compose new work.
Hari Alluri (he/him/siya) is an award-winning poet, editor, and facilitator. Author of The Flayed City (Kaya Press) and chapbook Our Echo of Sudden Mercy (Next Page Press), his new collection is Tabako on the Windowsill (Brick Books). Co-editor of We Were Not Alone (Community Building Art Works) with Seema Reza, his collaborations range from the local to the international, and his work is available widely through these venues: Best of the Net (via Split This Rock), Library of Elemental Bending Vol. 1 (SMALL CAPS / TCR), Poem-a-Day, and We the Gathered Heat anthology (Haymarket Books).
RegisterRegistration 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 Mission Belonging, 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.