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Craft Workshops
LitArts RI craft workshops are open to all levels of writers across various genres and mediums. You must be 18+ to attend.
Please contact Staff if you wish to pay in person by cash or check to avoid Eventbrite fees.
Spring 2024 Workshops
Confronting Injustice: A Make and Slay Monster Workshop
Sat, March 16 1-3pm
With Amanda DeGrace
Monsters matter—almost always we dread their entrance and cheer their downfall. This generative workshop will briefly review the classic rules of monster theory (their “social purpose”) and how we craft stories that fight against them. Employing works like Cohen’s Seven Theses of Monstrosity, Lovecraft Country, and Ballad of Black Tom, as inspiration, we will use in-class prompts suitable for writers, comic artists and sketcher alike to consider the current trends of “injustice as monster” and how our heroes are helping us heal from it. Open to writers and illustrators of all levels, ages 18+. This class is a 2-hr workshop.
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Healing through Songwriting
Sat, April 6, 13, 20 & 27 12:30-2pm
With Morgan Johnston
Why does it feel comforting to write in second person? What tense will make it possible to talk about that difficult event for the first time? How does a specific chord express the sadness that never seems to come out right when trying to tell a friend, and what is it about writing and sharing songs that gives us goosebumps and makes our eyes water? In this workshop, songwriting is the healing. As music and lyric techniques are paired with mental health theories and coping skills, participants will uncover how the creative process and therapeutic process are synonymous. Open to writers of all levels, ages 18+. This is four-week class, with 1.5-hour sessions each week.
Shaping Our Stories: A Hybrid Approach to Writing the Body
Sat, May 4 & 11 12-2pm
With Erin Vachon
When we deeply observe the body and its rhythms, what shape does our story take? If we tell the story of bodies in pain, does the story shape change? In this generative workshop, we will embrace metaphor through hybrid forms, experimenting with hermit crab forms, erasure techniques, and image-text writing while revamping our drafting toolkit with photography, tarot, and medical diagrams. As we map our stories through body-conscious writing, we will follow their shapes into deeper empathy, particularly when writing through sites of pain. Open to writers of all levels. This is a two-week class, with a 2-hour session each week.
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Sat, March 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 & April 6 10am-12pm
With Leigh Vincola
This workshop is made possible by a partnership between Baypath University and LitArts RI.
The role of the caregiver has a profound impact on the health of families and communities. From healthcare professionals that serve the public, to caregiving that is done in private, to the roles so embedded within a community that we may not even notice their impact, caregiving is essential work that requires tremendous energy and compassion. It also often goes unseen and underappreciated, leaving the caregiver feeling empty. In this multi-week workshop we will come together as a group of caregivers and share in our collective experience. Through short readings, writing prompts and sharing, we will uncover the importance of our stories and leave feeling seen and cared for ourselves. Everyone is welcome. No writing or workshop experience needed.
Accessibility
All workshops will meet in person at LitArts RI’s wheelchair-accessible literary arts center at 400 Harris Ave, Unit E in Providence, unless otherwise noted. LitArts RI is actively committed to cultivating a community that values and reflects diversity, equity and inclusivity and to providing programming that is accessible to all attendees. Please let us know about any accommodations we can make to allow you to participate fully in these workshops.