Your Stories Matter
Wednesdays 6:30 - 8pm
9/11 - 10/30
Class held in the upstairs classroom and limited to 7 students.
Writing is ultimately about connection, about being known. Most stories spring from personal experience, and in this class we will be focusing on creating pieces that best express those stories. This class is appropriate for both new and experienced writers. Participants can write in any genre: essay, memoir, fiction, or poetry. In addition to a variety of prompts based on wordplay and sensory memory, we’ll read selections from contemporary writers and use them as springboards for our own work. The instructor will also provide some strategies for strengthening our own work. Participants will have the option to share their work in a safe, supportive space. We'll end the term with a limited-edition chapbook featuring work from the class.
About the instructor:Frances Donovan’s book Arboretum in a Jar (Lily Poetry Review Books, 2023) was nominated for the Massachusetts Book Award. Her chapbook Mad Quick Hand of the Seashore was a finalist for a Lambda Literary Award. A recipient of a Mass Cultural Council grant, Donovan’s poems have appeared in Lily Poetry Review, Solstice, Heavy Feather Review, SWWIM, and elsewhere. Her interviews of other poets can be found at The Rumpus and on her website, www.gardenofwords.com. Donovan holds an MFA in poetry from Lesley University and is a certified Poet Educator with Mass Poetry. A poem of hers has been displayed at Boston City Hall. Donovan’s work deals with themes of home, family, intergenerational trauma, and sexual and gender identity. She remembers fondly the summer of 1998, when she drove a bulldozer in a Pride parade while wearing a bustier.
Wednesdays 6:30 - 8pm
9/11 - 10/30
Class held in the upstairs classroom and limited to 7 students.
Writing is ultimately about connection, about being known. Most stories spring from personal experience, and in this class we will be focusing on creating pieces that best express those stories. This class is appropriate for both new and experienced writers. Participants can write in any genre: essay, memoir, fiction, or poetry. In addition to a variety of prompts based on wordplay and sensory memory, we’ll read selections from contemporary writers and use them as springboards for our own work. The instructor will also provide some strategies for strengthening our own work. Participants will have the option to share their work in a safe, supportive space. We'll end the term with a limited-edition chapbook featuring work from the class.
About the instructor:Frances Donovan’s book Arboretum in a Jar (Lily Poetry Review Books, 2023) was nominated for the Massachusetts Book Award. Her chapbook Mad Quick Hand of the Seashore was a finalist for a Lambda Literary Award. A recipient of a Mass Cultural Council grant, Donovan’s poems have appeared in Lily Poetry Review, Solstice, Heavy Feather Review, SWWIM, and elsewhere. Her interviews of other poets can be found at The Rumpus and on her website, www.gardenofwords.com. Donovan holds an MFA in poetry from Lesley University and is a certified Poet Educator with Mass Poetry. A poem of hers has been displayed at Boston City Hall. Donovan’s work deals with themes of home, family, intergenerational trauma, and sexual and gender identity. She remembers fondly the summer of 1998, when she drove a bulldozer in a Pride parade while wearing a bustier.
Wednesdays 6:30 - 8pm
9/11 - 10/30
Class held in the upstairs classroom and limited to 7 students.
Writing is ultimately about connection, about being known. Most stories spring from personal experience, and in this class we will be focusing on creating pieces that best express those stories. This class is appropriate for both new and experienced writers. Participants can write in any genre: essay, memoir, fiction, or poetry. In addition to a variety of prompts based on wordplay and sensory memory, we’ll read selections from contemporary writers and use them as springboards for our own work. The instructor will also provide some strategies for strengthening our own work. Participants will have the option to share their work in a safe, supportive space. We'll end the term with a limited-edition chapbook featuring work from the class.
About the instructor:Frances Donovan’s book Arboretum in a Jar (Lily Poetry Review Books, 2023) was nominated for the Massachusetts Book Award. Her chapbook Mad Quick Hand of the Seashore was a finalist for a Lambda Literary Award. A recipient of a Mass Cultural Council grant, Donovan’s poems have appeared in Lily Poetry Review, Solstice, Heavy Feather Review, SWWIM, and elsewhere. Her interviews of other poets can be found at The Rumpus and on her website, www.gardenofwords.com. Donovan holds an MFA in poetry from Lesley University and is a certified Poet Educator with Mass Poetry. A poem of hers has been displayed at Boston City Hall. Donovan’s work deals with themes of home, family, intergenerational trauma, and sexual and gender identity. She remembers fondly the summer of 1998, when she drove a bulldozer in a Pride parade while wearing a bustier.