Surviving Trauma and Writing into Resilience [Sasha LaPointe]

Creating art from our most difficult experiences isn’t easy. It can often feel as if we’re sinking in the swamp of memory rather than crafting a compelling narrative. But, along the way, we’ve been pulling ourselves up by branches. In this class I hope to help you discover whatever your branch may be and work to craft a narrative of not only surviving but of finding your way to healing. We will look at essays by Melissa Febos, Elissa Washuta, Layli Long Soldier, and Terese Mailhot, write to several prompts, and discuss the complexities of being a narrator both vulnerable and empowered.