Using Experimental Forms to Tell Tough Personal Stories

In this creative nonfiction workshop, writers will play with myriad forms of the personal narrative—such as lyric forms, research braids, flash, micro-essays, and hermit crab forms—to  discover unexpected voices with which to tell emotionally tender or tough stories. We'll read a variety of published essays from the likes of Ira Sukrungruang, Neema Avashia, Brian Doyle, Gwendolyn Wallace, Ryan Van Meter, Roxane Gay, Cheryl Strayed, Brenda Miller, Sabrina Imbler, and Sei Shōnagon, then kick-start our drafts with in-class writing exercises. We’ll practice new techniques in a safe and supportive environment and offer thoughtful, targeted feedback that focuses on what’s working in our essays and how to strengthen and refine them. 

Open to writers of all levels and genres. This is a 4-week workshop, with a 2-hour session each week. Please prepare for approximately 3 to 5 hours of work between sessions, including time for your own writing.

This 4-week workshop meets on Thursdays from 6-8pm at LitArts RI on the following dates:

Thursday, February 5

Thursday, February 12

Thursday, February 19

Thursday, February 26

About Your Teaching Artist

ETHAN GILSDORF (he/him) is the author of Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks. His work appears in the New York Times, Washington Post, Esquire, Wired, O the Oprah Magazine, Huffington Post, Brevity, Electric Literature, Poetry, and The Southern Review; and "Notable" in Best American Essays. He teaches at GrubStreet, leading the Essay Incubator program; at LitArts RI; is on the faculty of Solstice MFA Program at Lasell University; and teaches how to play Dungeons & Dragons. More info: ethangilsdorf.com.

Community Access Lottery

LitArts RI offers a lottery for free admission to those who are from a community that has faced institutional barriers in the writing and publishing worlds or who lack access to resources and could not otherwise afford to attend. The lottery closes 2 weeks before each workshop, at which time entrants will be notified if they are a recipient of one of the free seats.

To enter the lottery, press the red "Get tickets" button at the top right of your screen, then scroll down to add a "Community Access Lottery Ticket" to your cart and check out.

Safe and Brave Space Policy

Writing workshops can be vulnerable spaces. As a literary arts organization, LitArts RI is committed to providing a safe, brave, inclusive and accessible space to all participants, regardless of race, ethnicity, class, citizenship status, age, size, abilities, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. Be sensitive, be supportive, be respectful and engage with care. Discriminatory, hateful, and threatening content will not be tolerated; we ask that you bring any concerns to our attention immediately.

Accessibility

LitArts RI is wheelchair accessible. The organization is actively committed to cultivating a community that values and reflects diversity, equity and inclusivity and to providing programming that is accessible to all attendees. Please let us know about any accommodations we can make to allow you to participate fully in this event.

Health Safety Guidelines

If you have tested positive for Covid-19 within a few days of attending an event at LitArts RI, please contact Staff so we can let others know of possible exposure. We ask that you wait 14 days or until testing negative to return to the Center.

This activity is made possible in part by a grant from the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, through an appropriation by the Rhode Island General Assembly and a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.