Creative writing is a tool for knowing yourself, understanding the world, and connecting with other people. Led by author Seema Reza and accomplished guest writers—including poets, memoirists, novelists, and storytellers—these generative community workshops follow the model developed by Community Building Art Works (CBAW) over the course of a decade of bringing people together in military and hospital settings. Each workshop is designed to help participants put their personal stories on paper in a supportive environment.

Whether you’re just starting out or have been writing for years, you are welcome; no experience is required. Bring a pen, a notebook, and an open mind!

Attention & Transformation: A Summer Solstice Writing Workshop with Hari Alluri in Partnership with Strathmore

About This Workshop
At the core of the writing process is attention, and finding the versions of this attention that move us can lead to transformative experiences. As Patrick Rosal notes in his phenomenal book Atang, “Attention changes you. Art is one version of attention.” In this workshop—with a focus on the place where our inner worlds and the outer world meet—we will connect with writing that exemplifies transformative surprises of music and meaning, think about the ways we can deepen our practice, and compose new work.

Hari Alluri (he/him/siya) is an award-winning poet, editor, and facilitator. Author of The Flayed City (Kaya Press) and chapbook Our Echo of Sudden Mercy (Next Page Press), his new collection is Tabako on the Windowsill (Brick Books). Co-editor of We Were Not Alone (Community Building Art Works) with Seema Reza, his collaborations range from the local to the international, and his work is available widely through these and venues: Best of the Net (via Split This Rock), Library of Elemental Bending Vol. 1 (SMALL CAPS / TCR), Poem-a-Day, and We the Gathered Heat anthology (Haymarket Books). | linktr.ee/harialluri

This workshop will be recorded and a link to the recorded version is available for registered participants only, upon request. The recorded version is edited for participant privacy and focuses on the instructor’s lessons. Our partners at Strathmore want these workshops to be as accessible as possible, so they are priced as “pay what you can.” You will be prompted to enter an amount of your choice when you register. (If you are registering for free, please enter $0.) If you are able to pay for these workshops, every dollar goes to support Strathmore’s education programs.

REGISTER HERE