Magical Realism: Writing Workshop [Durham, NC]
**This course is in-person only. There is no virtual component. Participants must be age 21+
Full Tuition: $340 — Sliding-scale tuition options are available in the drop-down enrollment menu for you to self-select. To pay in installments, choose to pay with PayPal at check out.
Instructor: Christa Westaway | 5 Weeks | Fridays March 7 - April 4 | 7:00 - 9:00 PM | In-Person | 719 N Mangum St, Durham, NC
What would life be like if you could outsource feeling sad? Imagine a real world where employees at a call center can feel anyone's grief for a fee. In that world, feeling pain becomes a service that some are employed to do for the privileged who can afford to pay them. In Charles Yu’s short story “Standard Loneliness Package,” the fantastic meets reality in an attempt to explain the complexities and contradictions in modern society. Yu’s story is a great example of new wave Magical Realism, a literary fiction genre with an important lineage.
Following Expressionism and New Objectivity, Magical Realism developed as a literary style used by artists and writers to cope with trauma and to critique the world around them, especially in regards to social or political issues. Magical Realism is most notably linked to South American writers, but like other artistic styles and movements, the genre spread globally and has grown to include other writers of color who respond to the world in unique and deeply felt ways. Writers like Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Toni Morrison, Maxine Hong Kingston, and Leslie Marmon Silko are known for pioneering the genre. Their stories remind readers of the limits of language and the profundity of feeling. Magical realism blends otherworldly occurrences within a real world context. While it's a genre born of mythology, spirituality, and magic, more recent iterations draw inspiration from tech horror, surrealism, literature of the paranormal, and psychoanalysis.
Expand your reality and join new wave writing in Magical Realism: The New Wave. Over the course of five weeks, students will be introduced to contemporary fiction within the magical realism genre and explore its tropes from a craft perspective. In addition to selected readings and group discussions, students will practice writing with exploratory prompts meant to generate new work and to encourage both practice and play. New and experienced writers are welcome!
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This class will take place in person at Night School Bar in Durham. Night School requires that students refrain from attending in-person classes when sick. For more on our class policies, see our FAQ. Instructors will also follow this policy. If your instructor is sick, class may be moved to online for a session or rescheduled to the week following the final scheduled session at the instructor’s discretion.
Sliding Scale: Night School Bar pays instructors and staff a living wage. We ask that people who make above the living wage threshold for their area strongly consider choosing the full-tuition or mid-level tuition tier in order to support our own living wage program. For Durham, NC, where we are located, the living wage threshold is $49,000 for an individual. All scholarship needs are self-assessed, and we will never request or require proof of need.
Scholarships: We are currently able to offer three full scholarships per class. Our full scholarship tier is a nonrefundable offering, limited to one per student per month. Because our scholarship funding is limited, selecting multiple full scholarships in a single month will result in disenrollment from all classes. If the scholarship tier you need is sold out please email us directly, and we will add you to a waitlist and notify you if additional scholarships become available. Please see our FAQ for more information, including installment plans and refund policy.
**This course is in-person only. There is no virtual component. Participants must be age 21+
Full Tuition: $340 — Sliding-scale tuition options are available in the drop-down enrollment menu for you to self-select. To pay in installments, choose to pay with PayPal at check out.
Instructor: Christa Westaway | 5 Weeks | Fridays March 7 - April 4 | 7:00 - 9:00 PM | In-Person | 719 N Mangum St, Durham, NC
What would life be like if you could outsource feeling sad? Imagine a real world where employees at a call center can feel anyone's grief for a fee. In that world, feeling pain becomes a service that some are employed to do for the privileged who can afford to pay them. In Charles Yu’s short story “Standard Loneliness Package,” the fantastic meets reality in an attempt to explain the complexities and contradictions in modern society. Yu’s story is a great example of new wave Magical Realism, a literary fiction genre with an important lineage.
Following Expressionism and New Objectivity, Magical Realism developed as a literary style used by artists and writers to cope with trauma and to critique the world around them, especially in regards to social or political issues. Magical Realism is most notably linked to South American writers, but like other artistic styles and movements, the genre spread globally and has grown to include other writers of color who respond to the world in unique and deeply felt ways. Writers like Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Toni Morrison, Maxine Hong Kingston, and Leslie Marmon Silko are known for pioneering the genre. Their stories remind readers of the limits of language and the profundity of feeling. Magical realism blends otherworldly occurrences within a real world context. While it's a genre born of mythology, spirituality, and magic, more recent iterations draw inspiration from tech horror, surrealism, literature of the paranormal, and psychoanalysis.
Expand your reality and join new wave writing in Magical Realism: The New Wave. Over the course of five weeks, students will be introduced to contemporary fiction within the magical realism genre and explore its tropes from a craft perspective. In addition to selected readings and group discussions, students will practice writing with exploratory prompts meant to generate new work and to encourage both practice and play. New and experienced writers are welcome!
—
This class will take place in person at Night School Bar in Durham. Night School requires that students refrain from attending in-person classes when sick. For more on our class policies, see our FAQ. Instructors will also follow this policy. If your instructor is sick, class may be moved to online for a session or rescheduled to the week following the final scheduled session at the instructor’s discretion.
Sliding Scale: Night School Bar pays instructors and staff a living wage. We ask that people who make above the living wage threshold for their area strongly consider choosing the full-tuition or mid-level tuition tier in order to support our own living wage program. For Durham, NC, where we are located, the living wage threshold is $49,000 for an individual. All scholarship needs are self-assessed, and we will never request or require proof of need.
Scholarships: We are currently able to offer three full scholarships per class. Our full scholarship tier is a nonrefundable offering, limited to one per student per month. Because our scholarship funding is limited, selecting multiple full scholarships in a single month will result in disenrollment from all classes. If the scholarship tier you need is sold out please email us directly, and we will add you to a waitlist and notify you if additional scholarships become available. Please see our FAQ for more information, including installment plans and refund policy.
**This course is in-person only. There is no virtual component. Participants must be age 21+
Full Tuition: $340 — Sliding-scale tuition options are available in the drop-down enrollment menu for you to self-select. To pay in installments, choose to pay with PayPal at check out.
Instructor: Christa Westaway | 5 Weeks | Fridays March 7 - April 4 | 7:00 - 9:00 PM | In-Person | 719 N Mangum St, Durham, NC
What would life be like if you could outsource feeling sad? Imagine a real world where employees at a call center can feel anyone's grief for a fee. In that world, feeling pain becomes a service that some are employed to do for the privileged who can afford to pay them. In Charles Yu’s short story “Standard Loneliness Package,” the fantastic meets reality in an attempt to explain the complexities and contradictions in modern society. Yu’s story is a great example of new wave Magical Realism, a literary fiction genre with an important lineage.
Following Expressionism and New Objectivity, Magical Realism developed as a literary style used by artists and writers to cope with trauma and to critique the world around them, especially in regards to social or political issues. Magical Realism is most notably linked to South American writers, but like other artistic styles and movements, the genre spread globally and has grown to include other writers of color who respond to the world in unique and deeply felt ways. Writers like Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Toni Morrison, Maxine Hong Kingston, and Leslie Marmon Silko are known for pioneering the genre. Their stories remind readers of the limits of language and the profundity of feeling. Magical realism blends otherworldly occurrences within a real world context. While it's a genre born of mythology, spirituality, and magic, more recent iterations draw inspiration from tech horror, surrealism, literature of the paranormal, and psychoanalysis.
Expand your reality and join new wave writing in Magical Realism: The New Wave. Over the course of five weeks, students will be introduced to contemporary fiction within the magical realism genre and explore its tropes from a craft perspective. In addition to selected readings and group discussions, students will practice writing with exploratory prompts meant to generate new work and to encourage both practice and play. New and experienced writers are welcome!
—
This class will take place in person at Night School Bar in Durham. Night School requires that students refrain from attending in-person classes when sick. For more on our class policies, see our FAQ. Instructors will also follow this policy. If your instructor is sick, class may be moved to online for a session or rescheduled to the week following the final scheduled session at the instructor’s discretion.
Sliding Scale: Night School Bar pays instructors and staff a living wage. We ask that people who make above the living wage threshold for their area strongly consider choosing the full-tuition or mid-level tuition tier in order to support our own living wage program. For Durham, NC, where we are located, the living wage threshold is $49,000 for an individual. All scholarship needs are self-assessed, and we will never request or require proof of need.
Scholarships: We are currently able to offer three full scholarships per class. Our full scholarship tier is a nonrefundable offering, limited to one per student per month. Because our scholarship funding is limited, selecting multiple full scholarships in a single month will result in disenrollment from all classes. If the scholarship tier you need is sold out please email us directly, and we will add you to a waitlist and notify you if additional scholarships become available. Please see our FAQ for more information, including installment plans and refund policy.