Finding Your Voice: A Non-Fiction Workshop

If you have been scribbling poetry in secret journals for years or if you want to now begin a memoir for your grandchildren, it can take some time to find your voice or to have enough trust to show your writing to the world. Rather than waiting for the day when everything is perfect and finished, this course begins one day, one word at a time. Short writing exercises, tips and tricks, including creating a space for writing, writing every day, reading aloud, training your mind to see detail, taking chances with emotion, having fun with humor and flourishes, writing from the heart, cultivating consistency, overcoming barriers to writing. Bring a notebook and a pen.

About the Presenter(s):

Frances Kai-Hwa Wang is an award-winning journalist, poet, artist, essayist, and scholar focused on issues of Asian America, race, justice, and the arts. Her writing has appeared at PBS NewsHour, NBC AsianAmerica, The Emancipator, Cha Asian Literary Journal, Joao-Roque Literary Journal, Drunken Boat, Kartika Review. She teaches creative writing at Washtenaw Community College. She co-created a multimedia artwork for Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center and wrote three chapbooks and a book of prose poetry, “You Cannot Resist Me When My Hair Is in Braids.” She has a weakness for a well-crafted argument and a lyrical turn of phrase. Franceskaihwawang.com

About Detroit Lit :

Detroit Lit is a project to support Detroit’s literary community. We acknowledge and uplift the history and culture of Detroit as a city region of people who have been traditionally excluded from the national conversation. As a place that is majority Black, Arab American, and Latinx, we center writers of color and their experiences.

Through joyful engagements and high-quality professional development, we provide writers with opportunities to gain the skills they need to excel in this field. Detroit Lit’s mission is to sustain and expand Detroit’s vibrant writing community, so no one feels forced to leave to succeed in the literary arts.