The Sundress Academy for the Arts is excited to present “Writing Around the Wound of Estrangement,” a workshop led by Lindsey Danis on May 10, 2023, from 6-7:30 PM. This event will be held over Zoom. Participants can access the event at tiny.utk.edu/sundress (password: safta).
This 90-minute generative workshop will look at how we talk about estrangement and, more critically, what is left unsaid. We’ll examine the landscape of estrangement: Why do relationships fracture? Who is primarily affected? Whose voices are elevated in discussions of estrangement, and whose are silenced? We’ll use Jane Alison’s “Meander, Spiral, Explore” to consider the narrative shapes best suited to estrangement stories. What structures explain what often feels untranslatable? How do we give meaning to this wound when it requires we write about painful material, regrettable behaviors, or family secrets? We will read excerpts from Cheryl Strayed and MB Caschetta to unpack the narrative choices writers make, and what we believe this wound reveals or conceals about us. Generative writing prompts will allow writers to examine this topic in a supportive group environment. Writers will be encouraged (but not required) to share.
Lindsey Danis is a queer writer of fiction and essays on travel, nature, belonging, and LGBTQ identity. Lindsey’s writing has appeared in Longreads, Catapult, Hobart, Barzakh and elsewhere, and received a notable mention in Best American Travel Writing. Lindsey is the creative nonfiction editor at Atlas + Alice and runs the queer outdoor travel blog QueerAdventurers. Lindsey has a BA from Vassar College, MFA from Emerson College, and is an alumni of SAFTA, Tin House and forthcoming TA at The Writer’s Hotel. Explore more of Lindsey’s work at lindseydanis.com or via Twitter (@lindseydanis) or Instagram (@lindsey.danis.writer).
While there is no fee to participate in this workshop, those who are able and appreciative may make donations directly to Lindsey Danis via Venmo: @Lindsey-Danis or via Paypal: lindsey.danis@gmail.com
This workshop is brought to you in part by a grant provided by the Tennessee Arts Commission. Find out about the important work they do here.
