Meeting notes from the first ever writing group meeting
October 6, 2009
Who was there:
Sarah
Harmony
Aaron aka Dziga
Shannelle
Rachael
Pete
We started by talking about what brought us to the wiring group and what experiences we’d had with writing. We are all radicals interested in connecting the personal and the political and honing our craft in an informal yet rigorous setting, where we are all teachers and all students. We care about manifesting our ideals in both the form and content of our work, and are interested in how our art can not only reflect, but also change reality. We want to bear witness to inner and outer experiences. The forms we’re interested in include poetry, creative nonfiction, plays, stories, novels, political essays, journalism, collective narratives, zines, and collaborations.
We want our workshops to combine reading, discussion, opportunities for feedback on our work, and writing exercises. We will do quick free writes and responses to readings together, but also do writing assignments and readings (of selected texts and of each other’s work) at home. We will take turns leading the workshops each week, choosing readings and activities that relate to each other in form and content. Every few weeks a member will have a chance to get in depth feedback from everyone else in the group. Our group is open-ended and will unfold organically. We have nailed down a few things: We will start each session with personal check-ins and quick writing exercises to get us in a creative state of mind. We will leave time at the end to reflect on how the workshop went and take care of logistics, and will close with a quote that a different person will bring each week.
We will be meeting on Tuesdays from 7 to 9pm at various locations, probably mostly in Brooklyn. Next week we’ll be meeting at Rachael’s house. I’ll be leading the workshop with a short essay called Love as the Practice of Freedom by bell hooks. Pete will send out online copies, and I’ll have hard copies with me. We’ll also be bringing samples of our writing to be read at home. Next week will be about getting to know each other’s voices and continuing to shape the direction of this group. I’m going to post my ideas for next week’s activities online before next session so people can give feedback and know what to expect. We need someone to volunteer to keep time and take notes and also to bring a quote. That can also be three people. I have an online forum already set up for us. Just create an account and you’ll be able to post and also get email notifications about new posts. For some reason you have to scroll down a bunch to get to the forums. http://www.misled-youth.org/forum/68
Also, our group needs an awesome name! We talked about the acromyns SOUP and STEW that can change every week, like Super Outrageous Unique Prophesiers or Sorta Ordinary Union of People. Yes! Rachael closed our meeting with a rad quote from The Cyborg Manifesto by Donna Haraway. Let’s keep in touch, cyborg-writers!
Cheesy love,
Sarah
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