If, as Elaine Scarry, Virginia Woolf, and other writers have insisted, pain and illness defy description and dismantle language, then how are we, as chronically ill and disabled writers, to tell the stories of our own bodies? Intended for writers of all genres and experience levels, this workshop explores the ways in which pain, illness, and violent somatic experiences can defy description and pose physical, emotional, and craft challenges to writers working with these topics. Together we will read poetry and essays, and build tactics for how to write safely, intimately, and hauntingly about and through bodily pain.
(Writing) the Body (in Pain) is available as a 2-hour workshop or a short multi-session course. I am excited to bring this program to writing classes, community health centres, and other organizations interesting in hosting.
If you would like to be notified when the next workshop is offered, you can sign up here: