Write your truth

Thursday(s) April 2, 9, 16 & 23 6:30-8:30pm CT, via Zoom
Nonmember: $200; Member: $170; Student/Educ/Mil $140
*EARN CPEs; TWO SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE

In the span of every life are countless moments, stories, and revelations. When writing a personal narrative, how do writers go about selecting what will most speak their truth and resonate with readers?

In this four-week course, we’ll demystify the personal narrative process by figuring out the difference between a snapshot and a story. First-time writers may assume they have to include their entire lives in one piece, which can make getting started on a personal essay confusing and overwhelming. This workshop will help you pinpoint storylines within yourself by leaning into your unique style and tone. Through games, prompts, and other exercises, we’ll focus on generating work every week.

This course is open to adult writers of all skill levels.

Workshop participants will leave with the following:

A starting point for a personal essay
An understanding of how to differentiate between a situation and a story
Techniques for nurturing your voice on the page
Ideas on how to create prompts for yourself to generate material

An award-winning essayist and poet, Kendra Allen was born and raised in Dallas, TX. She loves laughing, leaving, and writing. Some of her other work can be found in The Paris Review, High Times, The Rumpus, and more. She’s the author of the New York Times lauded poetry collection The Collection Plate (Harper Collins, 2022) and essay collection When You Learn the Alphabet, which won the 2018 Iowa Prize for Literary Nonfiction. Fruit Punch (Ecco, 2022), her memoir, is out now and receiving praise from all corners. Jaquira Díaz, author of Ordinary Girls, states: “A stunning and original memoir about Black girlhood and coming of age. Allen is both storyteller and poet, observing the world with curiosity and humor. Fruit Punch is simultaneously brilliant cultural commentary and an intimate portrayal of family and community, and it will stay with me for a long, long time.”