CURRENTS 2019
Dates: 05.05.19 – 05.10.19
Location: A boutique hotel in Frenchtown, NJ
Number of students: 9
“THINK OF MEMOIR AS A BRIDGE, A STRUT, A SPAN CONNECTING THE KNOWN AND THE UNKNOWN, THE DISTANT AND THE NEAR, THE YOU AND THE ME. THINK OF MEMOIR AS POLITICS.” – BETH KEPHART
WHAT WILL WE DO?
Our May 2019 workshop will focus on questions of voice and narrative authority. What does an authentic memoir voice sound like? How is it crafted? How do we learn to trust our own voices as we tell our stories? How do we, on the one hand, use our found voices to elongate scenes, and how, on the other, do we edit our work to its most crystalline core? Our setting will be an historic inn in Frenchtown, NJ. We will ground our work in the shared reading of excerpts and essays. We’ll offer a special single session dedicated to the best graphic memoirs of our time, to find out what they teach us about narrative and truth.
Our mornings will be dedicated to craft lectures, analysis, and the creation of new work that originates from prompts. Our afternoons will focus on group critiques of 3,500-word manuscripts submitted in advance. Each writer will have a private 30-minute session with Beth. The program will culminate in a shared reading of a final 750-word piece developed over the course of the week.
IS IT RIGHT FOR YOU?
This workshop is the right workshop for those who have a story to tell, an interest in the art of memoir, and a desire to learn through readings, prompts, and guided feedback.
WHAT TO SEND IN ADVANCE
Please submit, with your application, a 300-word essay that tells a story of an adventure you went on when you were in your twenties. Maybe that adventure was a walk down the street. Maybe it was a ride in a hot-air balloon. Maybe it was a trip to South Africa. Whatever it was, put us right there, with you.
Additionally, to help ensure that you get the most out of our time together, please send, one month in advance, up to 3,500 words of a piece you would like deep feedback on.
