The Sundress Academy for the Arts hosts the Sundress Workshop Series, a series of generative writing workshops emphasizing composition, revision, and creative development. As part of Sundress Publications, the Sundress Workshop Series provide focused and expert instruction to writers of all skill levels. Participants are treated to guidance from advanced instructors who help them to not only hone their craft but also opportunities to create and share new work.

Writing the Speculative Diaspora

April 8th, 2025, 6:00-7:30PM EST
http://tiny.utk.edu/sundress

The Sundress Academy for the Arts is excited to present “Writing the Speculative Diaspora,” a workshop led by Kyla-Yến Huỳnh Giffin on Wednesday, April 8th from 6:00-7:30 PM EST. This event will be held over Zoom. Participants can access the event at tiny.utk.edu/sundress (password: SAFTA).

Every story is a diaspora story, and every diaspora story is speculative in nature. In this craft talk and workshop, open to all genres, students will gain an appreciation for diaspora stories and be able to spot and understand the presence of the speculative within them. We’ll discuss perspectives on diaspora narratives from authors such as Ocean Vuong, Viet Thanh Nguyen, R.F. Kuang, and Ling Ma; diaspora stories’ role in challenging western storytelling conventions; and how diaspora pushes against genre, concepts of truth and authenticity, and the confines of individuality and representation. We’ll then discover the speculative diaspora form and its potential, and explore the speculative diaspora through writing prompts such as truth/lie (“speculative truth”)/dream activities and a collective storytelling exercise.

While there is no fee to participate in this workshop, those who are able and appreciative may make donations directly to Kyla-Yến Huỳnh Giffin via Venmo: @kylayen or PayPal @KylaYenHuynhGiffin

Kyla-Yến Huỳnh Giffin (they/them) is a queer and trans, biracial, Vietnamese American diaspora writer whose speculative work focuses on diaspora, transness, ecology, empire, and intergenerational histories. They are a Press Editor for Half Mystic Press, a Co-Coordinator for Sundress Publications’ Poets in Pajamas, and an Associate Editor for Iron Horse Literary Review. Kyla-Yến’s work has been nominated for Best of the Net, and appears in The Offing, Oroboro, Vănguard, and other publications. They have been awarded residencies, workshops, and/or fellowships from Tin House, the Sundress Academy for the Arts (SAFTA), Seventh Wave, Abode Press, and more.

This event is brought to you by a grant provided by the Tennessee Arts Commission.

Writing Without Words: On Gesture

May 13th, 2025, 6:00-7:30PM EST
http://tiny.utk.edu/sundress

The Sundress Academy for the Arts is excited to present “Writing Without Words: On Gesture,” a workshop led by Stacey Balkun on Wednesday, May 13th from 6:00-7:30 PM EST. This event will be held over Zoom. Participants can access the event at tiny.utk.edu/sundress (password: SAFTA).

As writers, our medium is words: written or spoken; mumbled or sung. We share language with other genres—like music and theatre—but what other tools do these media have in conjunction with words, and how can we learn from them? In this generative workshop, we will expand our understanding of our art form and craft our own poetry or short prose pieces that are driven by more-than-words.

Drawing inspiration from instrumental songs, mime acts, and experimental poetry, we will devote the majority of our session to studying gesture: a vital tool for every art form. We will consider artistic examples ranging from the band Daikaiju to the painter Kay Sage as we engage in conversation and participate in low-stakes, wordless activities designed to spark our imaginations, before quietly writing with the guidance of a prompt, with an opportunity to share.

While there is no fee to participate in this workshop, those who are able and appreciative may make donations directly to Stacey Balkun via Venmo or Paypal at staceymbalkun@gmail.com.

Stacey Balkun is the author of Sweetbitter and co-editor of Fiolet & Wing. Her creative and critical work has appeared in Attached to the Living World, Best New Poets, Mississippi Review, and several other volumes. Stacey holds a PhD in Literature from the University of Mississippi, Oxford, where she was awarded the Holdich Scholar Award, and an MFA in Poetry from Fresno State. She has been granted fellowships and grants from the Modern Language Association, PEN America, and the Helene Wurlitzer Foundation in support of her writing.  Stacey teaches online for The Poetry Barn and the University of New Orleans.

This event is brought to you by a grant provided by the Tennessee Arts Commission.

Look / Mira: Latinx/e Ways of Looking in Poetry & Prose

June 10th, 2025, 6:00-7:30PM EST
http://tiny.utk.edu/sundress

The Sundress Academy for the Arts is excited to present “Look / Mira: Latinx/e Ways of Looking in Poetry & Prose” a workshop led by José Angel Araguz on Wednesday, June 10th from 6:00-7:30 PM EST. This event will be held over Zoom. Participants can access the event at tiny.utk.edu/sundress (password: SAFTA).

This 90-minute generative workshop invites participants to explore the act of looking at both cultural inheritance and creative practice. Drawing on Latinx/e writers who reframe the gaze, we’ll examine how looking and being looked at are shaped by language, place, power, and memory. We’ll read short excerpts from poetry, creative nonfiction, and hybrid works that reimagine observation as resistance, remembrance, and recognition.

Through guided discussion and low-stakes writing prompts, we’ll experiment with how our own ways of looking (familial, spiritual, political) can become generative ground for new work. Open to writers of all levels, the workshop encourages a porous approach to genre and centers communal reflection and craft curiosity. Participants will have the option to share aloud and will leave with drafts and revision pathways.

While there is no fee to participate in this workshop, those who are able and appreciative may make donations directly to José Angel Araguz via Venmo: @Jose-Araguz-1 or PayPal: joseangelaraguz@gmail.com

José Angel Araguz is the author most recently of the lyric memoir Ruin & Want (Sundress Publications) and the poetry collection Rotura (Black Lawrence Press). He is an Associate Professor at Suffolk University as well as a faculty member at large for the Solstice Low-Residency MFA Program. He blogs and reviews books at The Influence.

 

This event is brought to you by a grant provided by the Tennessee Arts Commission.