In Celebration of Un-Silencing
On behalf of children past, present & future, including the child I once was, and the child you once were + the revolutionary power of writing from, and through the body + new spring & summer classes
Parrot on the Branch of a Flowering Rose Bush (ca. 1900) illustration by Ito Jakuchu.
Last week I shared with you one of the most vulnerable essays I’ve ever written about the abuses in my childhood. It’s called “The Cost” and you can find a link to my post about it below if you missed it and want to read it now or later. Since this essay appeared in Ilanot Review, I have received an outpouring of notes and messages (emails, Twitter messages, FB and Insta dms, Substack comments, etc.) from people all over the world, including some survivors and many writers (of course), some of those writers quite acclaimed and generous in their praise for the essay’s craft and beauty. That's been unimaginably wonderful. But I've also heard from social workers, attorneys, and even judges who work in the realm of child advocacy and protection. They think this is a very important story for the sake of children past, present, and future. And that validation buoys me, and gives me resolve. And while it’s much too early to say, it looks likeI might have a nibble on the original “What My Father Knew …” essay that was pulled offline, and which spurred the writing of “The Cost.” I will keep you posted!
To those of you who pay to subscribe to Writing in the Dark, I want you to know that you support this kind of un-silencing writing on behalf of those children past, present, and future—including the child I once was. Thank you.
And if you would like to give a gift subscription to someone in need of claiming their voice, you can do that here Thank you.
You can also watch or listen to the launch reading of Ilanot Review’s Money Issue, in which “The Cost” appears, if you would like to hear me give an introduction to the essay and read from its opening.
“The Cost” is an essay that deals with so many things—trauma, abandonment, silencing, shame, legal threats, re-traumatization, etc.—that it was, in its complexity, nearly impossible to write. But I did it, somehow—and one of the strategies I used was to keep my focus tight to my own experience of the events in the essay, especially how they felt in my body.
Learning how to write from my body—not about my body, but into and through it—has been one of the most powerful factors in deepening my practice, not only for how it transforms my writing on the page, but for how it transforms my life. Later today—before May 10 is over—I’ll be sending out our weekly prompt and you’ll likely recognize some body-based techniques in that, given where my thoughts have been! So please be watching for that prompt later today!
If you want to powerfully explore ways to embody your writing, enliven it, and access what might otherwise hide in memory’s shadows, Elephant Rock has a beautiful 6-week generative class starting May 21 with the wonderful Nina Lichtenstein.
Nina will help guide writers back into the stories in their “glorious, diverse, and full-of-treasures-and-information bodies.” Information about Nina’s class is below, along with a handful of other upcoming opportunities to study with Elephant Rock, including my own Writing in the Dark workshop, for which we have three spots remaining.
the body remembers
with Nina B. Lichtenstein
a generative workshop series
Tuition: $499
Sundays, May 21 -June 25, 12:30-2:30pm Central, Virtual on Zoom
Memory is not just a matter of the work that happens in our tiny hippocampus, but even more so what we carry with and in our glorious, diverse, and full-of-treasures-and-information bodies. The Body Remembers is for everyone curious about how tapping into the human body for creative inspiration can lead to discoveries and realizations that will enrich your writing. Whether you are deep into your memoir or personal essay writing or just starting out, you will have gain wisdom and skill from exploring how your body gives your story texture, depth, and perspective. We will immerse ourselves in excerpts from Lidia Yuknavitch (The Chronology of Water), Kiese Laymon (Heavy), and Bessel Van Der Kolk (The Body Keeps the Score), and examine essays by writers such as Abigail Thomas, Dinty Moore, Natalie Lima, Marcos Gonzales, and more. We will recognize our bodily knowledge of past events in our lives and gain more awareness of the space and consideration (and appreciation) our bodies deserve in our writing for having carried us so far and so well already. Together, we will create a collaborative environment in which to honor and gather the wisdom of the body-stories we carry.
More workshop details here.
braiding paradox
how to weave complex truths
with Arya Samuelson
Saturdays, May 13th and 20th 12-3 PM Central, Virtual
tuition: $179* (two half-off scholarships available for this course, please inquire with admin@elephantrockwriting.org).
why braiding paradox?
We are always weaving between memory and presence, fact and fiction, sensation and logic, thought and dream. Our stories are woven, too – an amalgamation of paradox, contradictions, and possibilities. Our stories are never one thing, and neither are we.
In this two-part class, we will explore the craft of braided essays as a way to render potent narratives that defy the single story and embrace the complexity of truth.
In the first class, we’ll study braided essays by authors who model the weaving of divergent narratives into a story that is far more than the sum of its parts. You’ll leave with an assignment to play with throughout the week.
In the second class, we’ll share excerpts from our braided essays aloud, drawing ideas and on the spot insights from Arya and other participants. You can expect to walk away inspired by the power of braided narratives, the beginnings of a new essay, and concrete tools and abundant inspiration for how to continue the weaving beyond our class.
More info here.
adversity is the engine
laying down the narrative bones for a memoir, personal essay or novel
with Lisa Jones
tuesdays, May 23rd - June 27th, 6:00-8:30pm Central, Virtual
Tuition: $549
why adversity is the engine?
We read for entertainment, of course, but we also read to gain a roadmap of how to navigate our own adversity. We read to find that someone else has experienced something like our own suffering and made it out the other side. This is the kind of writing we’ll produce in the the generative space of ADVERSITY IS THE ENGINE. The journey of our character (fictional or nonfictional) will be one that moves through some form of adversity and into something like redemption, or at least usefulness. And, of course, we, the writers, will take that journey right along our with our characters.
More info here.
finding the frame
an exploration of how structure transforms our stories
with Liz Chang
Meets 12-3pm Central via Zoom for three Saturdays May 27 - June 10, 2023
tuition: $429
Can an essay become a flash piece instead? Can braid become a collage instead? Can a found-language piece evolve into a braid? Do we determine the form of our work or can our work find its own format, if only we choose to listen and follow what it’s telling us? In visual art, artists often work in multiple media and are guided to select their form, with consideration of the work itself. A painter might dabble in short film, or a calligrapher pick up a block of clay and throw onto a wheel. This is valuable! Because while skillfulness inside of your chosen form or genre matters, we can learn so much by pushing work (existing or new) into other frames. Finding the Frame will introduce writers to new short forms (found-language work, braids, prose poems/micro prose, villanelle or pantoum) and lots of play! While your subject will be your own to explore, this class will encourage you to try out the same or similar themes in different packages to see what will sing. You will be given broad prompts, and we will discuss examples of writers moving between forms and formats.
writing in the dark XV
potent survival strategies for creating during uncertain times—elephant rock’s signature, sell-out workshop
with Jeannine Ouellette
tuition: $499
Thursdays, June 15 - July 20, 6-8pm Central, Virtual
WITD is a highly participatory, generative, collaborative & inventive space where you will be invited to (distracted into) leaving your burdens momentarily in order to engage with writing prompts that capture your imagination and take you to new places in your writing.
Inquire very soon; this workshop has only three spots remaining.
Wow Jeannine. Slump-back-in-the-armchair-legs-splayed-out -at- angles Wow. To hear from judges, attorneys and child advocacy experts that THIS makes a difference, that it all matters? I truly cannot imagine how full your still broken heart must be in receiving this. I am deeply inspired by your courage in writing and living with "The Cost".