Sacred Writing Circles: Earth
a five-week generative writing workshop for BIPOC storytellers

Registration is open until 11/10!

Visit this link to apply: bit.ly/SacredWriting

Dates: November 16 to December 21
Thursdays: Nov 16, Nov 30, Dec 7, Dec 14, Dec 21
6-8pm ET / 3-5pm ET

Location: Gathering Virtually

Visit this link to apply: bit.ly/SacredWriting

Course Description:

This generative writing workshop will support you in returning to your writing by creating new work, and engaging in everyday practices that nourish your being. This workshop will revolve around the element of Earth: our roots, what grounds us, and how we create fertile soil for abundance. Workshop will include grounding body-based practices to reduce anxiety, generative writing prompts, writing time, and craft discussion. Together we will create and share work in an anti-racist, gender-affirming space. Together we chart new possibilities.

This workshop is open to all self-identified BIPOC writers.

Finally make time to write. Do it in supportive community.

Apply to join here by Friday, November 11, 11:59pm ET:

This course includes:

— FIVE LIVE class meetings: These classes begin with a community circle, followed by thoughtful writing prompts that revolve around the elements of Earth: where we come from, our roots, what nourishes & supports us. There is uninterrupted writing time in every session, plus a low-stakes, supportive environment to share your work if you choose to!

— Holistic healing and anxiety-reducing practices to ground yourself when you write to carry with you for years to come

— “Grow Home” assignments to work on and complete each week. This can include writing prompts, pieces, and healing tools to practice.

— An intentionally cultivated community of BIPOC writers who can grow as readers and champions of your work

This course is for you if:

— you are looking for time to finally write!

— you are looking for a sacred, generative writing space

— you have a lot of ideas for your stories & seek support to get them out

— you are curious/ interested in guided meditations & body-based practices to support you feeling "in" your body while creating

— you want to create/ maintain a regular, love-filled writing practice & would like support/ accountability

— you are looking to be in community with other BIPOC writers / writers of the global majority

Writers of all levels are welcome. Your facilitator, River, writes poetry, memoir, and speculative fiction. He has received support from writing fellowships and retreats in all of those genres. This class is best geared towards writers of poetry, memoir, and creative non-fiction. Fiction writers will benefit if you are looking for a space to work on your shaping your personal writing practice.

Finally have time to write. Write TWICE as much with HALF the stress.

Apply to join here by Friday, November 10, 11:59pm ET:

Energetic Exchange: $333 / Pay-it-forward Rate: $444

Refund Policy
Due to the nature of this course, there are no refunds. Please read the full description and content carefully when deciding if this is a course meant for you.

Read the testimonies of former participants below for more enthusiastic support.

Writing as Love Ceremony: Reclaim Your Writing Life
a two-month personal journey to reclaiming your artistic practice once and for all

for BIPOC Storytellers

Registration is currently closed.

To join the waitlist to learn when Writing as Love Ceremony next opens for registration in 2024, add your name here: bit.ly/WLCWaitlist

*

Dates: June to July 2023
Thursdays: June 15, June 22, June 29, July 13
& Tuesday: July 18 + a BONUS Writing Session!
6-8pm ET

Location: Gathering Virtually

Visit this link to apply: bit.ly/WritingAsLove

Course Description:

As BIPOC writers, we are constantly told we are not enough. Writing as a pursuit is often tied to competition, self-doubt, and scarcity. At what cost? In this course, we return to ourselves. Together we delve into writing as ceremony. We will read BIPOC writers and discuss writing for self-remembrance, archive, lineage, imagination, and radical possibility. 

We will learn how to shape healthy relationships to ourselves and our writing processes, from generating work to revising and navigating publishing. We will read and write to the works of historic and contemporary writers of color who wrote for the sake of remembering, documenting truths, and theorizing from their own lived experiences. 

Sessions incorporate generative writing, discussion, body-based healing practices that relieve anxiety and bring forth greater grounding. Writers we will read include: Alexis Pauline Gumbs, Audre Lorde, Gloria Anzaldúa, Alexander Chee, and more. We will share work in an anti-racist workshop space. Together we will create new possibilities. 

This workshop is open to all self-identified BIPOC writers.

Write with ease. Write TWICE as much in HALF the time.

Apply to join here by Tuesday, June 12, 11:59pm ET:

This course includes:

— SIX LIVE class meetings: These classes cover a range of topics from creating a sacred writing space to reframing and reclaiming writing as a personal and political practice, and resources for navigating the publishing game without drowning. Uninterrupted writing time in every session!

— SEVEN MONTHS of access to online learning portal of modules, readings, course materials that you will be able to revisit after the course ends to dive into exercises over and over again

— Holistic healing and anxiety-reducing practices to ground yourself when you write to carry with you for years to come

— “Grow Home” assignments to work on and complete each week. This can include writing prompts, pieces, and healing tools to practice.

— Gentle Accountability Partner: An assigned buddy from the class to check in with on a regular basis to stay accountable to the artistic practice and writing life you are creating for yourself

— An intentionally cultivated community of BIPOC writers who can grow as readers and champions of your work

This course is for you if:

— you are looking for time to write!

— you feel exhausted with your current writing practice, or lack of, and are looking for gentle accountability and community support

— you find yourself submitting endlessly to receive recognition, fellowships, your "big break" and feel exhausted from this process  

— you are looking for space to define yourself as a writer/ artist outside the confines of the literary world of achievement

— you want to create/ maintain a regular, love-filled writing practice & would like support/ accountability

— you are looking for a sacred, generative writing space

— you have a lot of ideas for your stories & seek support to get them out

— you are curious/ interested in guided meditations & body-based practices to support you feeling "in" your body while creating

— you've attended your share of conferences and retreats and feel jaded that people don't stay in touch after, you no longer have access to the teachers, and you're back in the same place you were before attending  

— you are tired of whiteness being centered, and are looking to be in community with other BIPOC writers

Writers of all levels are welcome. Your facilitator, River, writes poetry, memoir, and speculative fiction. He has received support from writing fellowships and retreats in all of those genres. This class is best geared towards writers of poetry, memoir, and creative non-fiction. Fiction writers will benefit if you are looking for a space to work on your shaping your personal writing practice.

Finally have time to write. Write TWICE as much with HALF the stress.

Apply to join here by Tuesday, June 12, 11:59pm ET:

What you will receive*:

— SIX LIVE class meetings: These classes cover a range of topics from creating a sacred writing space to reframing and reclaiming writing as a personal and political practice, and resources for navigating the publishing game.

— SEVEN MONTHS of access to online portal of modules, readings, course materials that you will be able to revisit after the course ends to dive into exercises over and over again

— Clarity and insights on your own writing practice

— Tools and framing to create and shape your own sacred writing practice for years to come

— A reframe of the publishing game and writing industry as a "professional" writer to keep you in the game for the long run

— A toolbox of healing tools and practices to bring greater emotional regulation, calm, peace, and ease to integrate into your life

— Community connections with other multi-talented BIPOC writers determined to reclaim their art in this world

Write TWICE as much with double the ease. Ground in your own power.
Visit the application link to learn more.

Curriculum

Live session 1: Earth— Creating Community & A Sacred Writing Space

Participants will introduce themselves, set the container of our space together, community-build, and dive into what makes a writing space sacred. Participants will leave with an understanding of what they need to build a writing space that helps them focus and thrive.

Live session 2: Fire— The Personal & Political Significance of Your Writing

Using prose readings and frameworks set by revolutionary writers of color, participants will dive into the personal and political significance of our writing and the stories we tell. Participants will write for a full 30 minutes and leave with a greater understanding of the importance of their work.

BONUS Live Session 3: Uninterrupted, Joyous Writing Time

Participants will write productively and uninterrupted for a full 60 minutes in our time together. They will have a safe container to debrief and share their progress afterwards if they choose to.

Live session 4: Water— Glimmers & Inner Gremlins Shadow Work

Participants will be guided to explore the inner gremlins and voices that interfere with their relationship to their own creative work and practice. Together we will use art, dialogue, and community-building activities to explore antidotes and solutions in a container that feels as close to “safe” as possible. Participants will write for a full 30 minutes.

Live session 5: Air— On Publishing: Residencies, Retreats, & Creating Our Own Criteria

Participants will learn the fundamentals of writing conferences, retreats, and residencies. They will receive a resource list of recommended retreats and residencies. Participants will leave with framing, guidance, and practice on creating our own markers of success. Participants will write for a full 30 minutes.

Live session 6: Heart— Embodying Our Sacred Rituals for the Long-Term

Participants will come together in a closing ceremony and celebration of their work, reflections, and growth over these past two months.

A note on recording: Due to the nature of vulnerability sharing and container setting, sessions will not be recorded. However, any session that you miss will have it’s own “module” of readings and lesson notes to catch up on. The facilitator is also available to answer your questions during office hours. You will also have a full seven month’s access to the course materials afterwards to revisit on your own time.

Writing can be a joy-filled process. Let yourself learn to be in this space.

Apply to join here by Tuesday, June 12, 11:59pm ET:

Refund Policy
Due to the nature of this course, there are no refunds.

Please read the full description and content carefully when deciding if this is a course meant for you.