Movin' on Up

By Cassandra Rose Clarke, Associate Director of Writespace

Four years ago I walked into studio 212 in Silver Street Studios for the first time. Writespace had only been open for a few months, and I was there to interview for a faculty position. I did land that position--my inaugural class was actually on tension, an emotion that fortunately has not plagued my time with Writespace. A few months after my first workshop, I also became a volunteer and then, in May of 2017, Writespace's first hired staff member.

I had no idea what to expect when I walked into that quiet, minimalist room back in 2014, and I also had no idea that room would become a huge part of my life, a (if you’ll excuse the use of cliche) home away from home. In that space, I taught workshops, learned from other writers, and laughed with my fellow volunteers.  I made friends and critique partners. I celebrated the release of my novel Our Lady of the Ice. I fell in love with poetry again. I tore through word counts at our Saturday 600s, read American Horror Story fanfiction at our Frightspace Open Mic, and undertook one of the biggest projects of my professional life: co-organizing Writefest 18. 

It’s pretty safe to say that Silver Street Studios #212 has shaped me over the last four years.

Still, it was a tremendous honor to help organize the move from studio 212 to studio 208, just around the corner. Our new space has more square footage, glass doors that open out onto the deck, and a rather poetic view of the train tracks and jasmine-covered fence behind Sawyer Yards. It’s the perfect place for a writer, and I know it will shape all of us.

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