Identity and Culture on the Page: A Writing Workshop about Our Roots

“It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences.”  
— Audre Lorde, African-American

“By having roots, you can see the direction in which you want to go.”
 — Joenia Wapixana, Brazilian

“My parents were very Old World. They come from Brooklyn, which is the heart of the Old World. Their values in life are God and carpeting.” 
— Woody Allen, Jewish

Culture and tradition play a large part in shaping our individual and group identities. This workshop, which draws upon cultural traditions, rituals and experience, provides an opportunity to write about who we are and where we come from – geographically, historically, and emotionally. Whether whimsical or wise, join in crafting written explorations that takes us back to our roots while finding the writer within and advancing your writing skills!  (Sharing is voluntary and encouraged.)

Class will meet on Wednesdays, May 11, 18, 25, June 1.

INSTRUCTOR:
Elayne Clift, a Vermont Humanities Council Scholar, is an award-winning writer and journalist, a writing workshop leader, and a lecturer. Her work has been widely anthologized and appears in numerous publications internationally. A regular columnist for the Keene Sentinel and the Brattleboro Commons, and a reviewer for the New York Journal of Books, she has written for various magazines and periodicals. Her novel, Hester’s Daughters, a contemporary, feminist retelling of The Scarlet Letter, appeared in 2012 and her award-winning short story collection, Children of the Chalet, was published by Braughler Books (2015).  Her latest book is Around the World in 50 Years: Travel Tales of a Not So Innocent Abroad (Braughler Books, 2019).