“On the page we can write voices into silence, multiplicity into singular truth, embodiment into erasure."
Have you ever been told your writing is too complicated? That you need to simplify and focus? That you or your work is "too much"? This generative workshop encourages us to be complicated, to embrace layers, and to celebrate prismatic perspective rather than singular points of view. The practice of intersectional form draws from Kimberlé Creshaw and Patricia Hill-Collins' concepts of intersectionality, and is based on the belief that we are never too much and always enough, and that the more of ourselves we bring to the page, the richer our world can become.
Together we'll learn about intersectional form and the art of weaving together multiple identities, perspectives, and genres on the page. We'll read examples from multi-genre authors and learn how to use tools to generate a multiplicity of fragments that can then be assembled through various craft techniques. There will be time for writing and optional sharing as well.
We'll also discuss the healing potential and political possibilities of intersectional form, and how it can allow us to wrestle with power toward liberation.
"This wrestling with power is arguably more important now than ever. At a time of rising authoritarianism when political leaders are legislating oppression and coercing dissenters into silence, writers face a crossroads between compliance and resistance. Intersectional form allows for literary resistance that is not just about breaking silence and confronting lies, but about telling truths on one’s own terms and modeling a shift in the balance of power...Ultimately, the generative power of intersectional form can model a de-centering of dominance, and offer more expansive—and therefore more just—visions of who gets to speak, take up space, and shape the visions and values that govern our world."