Secrets and Lies: Writing Our Selves Writing Workshop [5-weeks, $250 Suggested]

Instructor: Hunter | Mondays 7:00-9:00 PM ET | November 14-December 12

“Tell all the Truth but tell it slant--

Success in Circuit lies” — Emily Dickinson

What’s so compelling about a juicy secret? What’s useful about a little white lie? The stories we tell (and tell ourselves) matter, and richly color how we’re perceived and how we present our potential multitude of selves. As Dickinson knew, "the Truth" is is in the eye of the beholder and poetry provides us with tools to alter our perception - or, as she puts it, "tell it slant.” In this class, we’ll play with fact and fiction as a means of self-expression—as ways of accessing the uncomfortable, vulnerable and precious bits of self we protect in whatever ways (by whatever means) we can.

Perhaps you’re a secret poet, scribbling lines in hidden pages. Perhaps you’re new in town and carrying along a mysterious past. Is there an objective truth? Does it belong in poetry? How can we use lies and withheld information to heighten emotional and poetic drama—to say what ultimately wants saying? Together we’ll read works by poets from Ana Bozečević to Caroline Randall Williams—poets who know how to manipulate, misdirect, and delight, while carving out a safe space to explore and express our own undiscovered truths. In this 5-week generative poetry workshop, we’ll explore the blurring lines between the honest truth, the art of lying, and the secrets nestled in between.
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For each class, four (4) full tuition scholarships and five (5) 80% tuition scholarships are available. Due to limited scholarship funds, we are currently only able to offer one class per term at the full scholarship level to any individual student—if you need a full scholarship, please sign up for the class you most want to take and email us to waitlist for any additional classes. We will add you when funds become available. Direct student donations are a crucial aspect of our funding model, and without them, we are not able to pay instructors a living wage. We encourage you to pick the payment tier that corresponds with your needs, but ask that you please consider our commitment to fair labor practices when doing so. If the scholarship tier you need is sold out or you would like to pay tuition on an installment basis, please email us directly, and we will work with you.

If at any point up to 48 hours before your first class session you realize you will be unable to take the class, please email us and we will reallocate your funds to a future class, to another student’s scholarship, or refund it. After classes begin, we are only able to make partial refunds and adjustments.

Photo credit: Jannicke Wiik-Nielsen/Science Photo Library