Help Support Writespace
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Writespace is a Houston grassroots literary arts nonprofit whose mission is to embrace and celebrate our city’s diversity by providing the type of high-quality training available through Master of Fine Arts creative writing programs at a fraction of the cost to writers of all genres, with a focus on providing programming for underserved communities and scholarships for low-income writers.
All donations made to Writespace are entirely tax-deductible.
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Our Next Workshop
Introduction to Personal Essay and Memoir: Turning the Pen on Ourselves
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INSTRUCTOR: Mark Dostert
TIME: Saturday, June 4, 1–4 p.m. CDT PRICE: Early bird price: $45 for members, $60 for nonmembers. The deadline for early bird pricing is Sunday, May 29. After Sunday, May 29: $55 for members, $70 for nonmembers. Become a member here. Apply for a scholarship here. LOCATION: Writespace, 1717 Michigan Street, Houston, TX, 77006 (map) LEVEL: All Levels CAP: 10 Why should strangers care about me—my experiences, my thoughts, my feelings, my joys, my sorrows, my musings, and my confusions? They shouldn’t—unless we give them good reason to! We engage deeply with memoirs and personal essays when they enable us to see and learn something new about ourselves and the larger human experience. Gifted memoirists and essayists take readers from the concrete details of their particular experiences to revelations of Universal Abstract truths of the human condition. Accordingly, effective personal essay and memoir writing does not center itself in confession but rather in self-examination during times of trial and/or growth, all presented through engaging narrative arcs. In this workshop, we will use mentor texts (both memoir and essay) to discover how these great essayists and memoirists employ the elements of point-of-view, imagery, diction, detail, and syntax to create juxtaposition, parallelism, allusion, tone, figurative language, and motif. All of this culminates in aesthetic pleasure and intellectual-emotional enlightenment, which is why we read in the first place, regardless of the essay’s subject matter. Participants are encouraged to bring the opening one to five pages of a personal essay or book-length memoir for feedback according to the writing craft concepts introduced and discussed. |
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View all our upcoming workshops.
Workshop Testimonial
"I hadn’t written poetry in more than 6 months. Not because I didn’t have anything to say—but rather, the opposite: I have too much to say, and not enough time to say it. That’s the beauty of short-form poetry—and I can think of no one better than Dr. Kendra Leonard to be your guide into this world.
If you’re like me—an unpracticed, imperfect poet who doesn’t know anything about the mechanics of sonnets or limericks—it can feel super intimidating to step into a poetry workshop. But Dr. Leonard made me feel anything but intimidated. She is kind, encouraging, and takes a gentle, question-led (rather than feedback-led) approach to workshopping poetry.
What’s truly amazing is that she’s helped me turn short-form poetry into a habit. I’ve written a poem every day since taking her workshop. Often, I don’t have a big block of time to sit down and journal out all my thoughts and feelings. Dr. Leonard’s workshop showed me that I can be just as expressive through short-form poetry, and in a fraction of the time.
I’m really excited to take her workshop on ekphrastic writing."
—Ynes Freeman, on Kendra Preston Leonard's Writing Short: Poetry in the Palm of Your Hand
If you’re like me—an unpracticed, imperfect poet who doesn’t know anything about the mechanics of sonnets or limericks—it can feel super intimidating to step into a poetry workshop. But Dr. Leonard made me feel anything but intimidated. She is kind, encouraging, and takes a gentle, question-led (rather than feedback-led) approach to workshopping poetry.
What’s truly amazing is that she’s helped me turn short-form poetry into a habit. I’ve written a poem every day since taking her workshop. Often, I don’t have a big block of time to sit down and journal out all my thoughts and feelings. Dr. Leonard’s workshop showed me that I can be just as expressive through short-form poetry, and in a fraction of the time.
I’m really excited to take her workshop on ekphrastic writing."
—Ynes Freeman, on Kendra Preston Leonard's Writing Short: Poetry in the Palm of Your Hand
Our Next Event
The Submission Room
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TIME: Sunday, June, 12, 4–6 p.m. CDT
PRICE: Free for members, $5 for nonmembers. Become a member here. LOCATION: Melange Creperie, 711 Heights Blvd #B Houston TX 77007 (map) Goal: To have every participant exit the session with at least 1–5 submissions in Submittable or with a solid plan for where, when, and how to submit in the weeks to follow. Structure: First 30 minutes - This time will be designated for experienced submitters and newbies to air out whatever questions or concerns they have about the submission process. To save time, informative handouts with tips and FAQs will be distributed to those who want them. Before the 30 minutes is up, all participants will have an opportunity to share which genre they are working in and what goal they are working towards, whether it be to actively submit during the session or work on a monthly spreadsheet to better prepare for future submissions. Remaining time - All participants will be asked to work independently and quietly so not to distract other participants from their personal goals. As a moderator, Jan will be available to answer questions and check-in with participants on a rolling basis to ensure everyone feels confident, knowledgeable, and productive moving forward. |
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Writespace is a Houston grassroots literary arts nonprofit whose mission is to embrace and celebrate our city’s diversity by providing the type of high-quality training available through Master of Fine Arts creative writing programs at a fraction of the cost to writers of all genres, with a focus on providing programming for underserved communities and scholarships for low-income writers. All donations made to Writespace are entirely tax-deductible.
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