The writing workshop will center on James Baldwin’s essay, “My Dungeon Shook: Letter to My Nephew.” which was published in The Progressive magazine in 1962 and is in the form of a letter to his 15-year-old nephew. Ta-Nehisi Coates’ highly-acclaimed 2015 book Between the World and Me, borrows from Baldwin and is also written in the form of a letter to a 15-year-old black boy, in this case, Coates’ son.
Using this models, Stormy Stipe will work with participants in the workshop to teach them what creative nonfiction, sometimes called literary nonfiction, is and how and why the personal essay is one form of that (as is the memoir), and introduce them to, in particular, the epistolary personal essay (i.e. an essay written in the form of a letter), but also work with participants on broaching difficult topics, ones that challenge us and maybe even frighten us a little, like racial bias.
Stormy Stipe, Ph.D. (she/her) holds a doctorate from the Creative Writing Program at the University of Houston and a Master of Fine Arts from the Sarah Lawrence College. Her fiction, poetry, and book reviews have been published in such journals as The Missouri Review, the Texas Review, and American Book Review . Her essays on racism in the U.S. have appeared in Canada’s The Walrus . She teaches creative writing and literature at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville.
This program is being offered as hybrid. When registering, please choose In Person or Virtual attendance. If you choose to attend in-person, the workshop will take place at the Galena Center for the Arts. Registration is required. To register visit,
http://creative-nonfiction.evenbrite.com, email distlerl@galenalibrary.org, or visit the library.
All registrants will receive a Zoom link via email in case weather or other unforeseen events cause the workshop to take place entirely online. The workshop will not be recorded for on demand viewing or live streamed to Facebook.
This event is part of Galena LitFest 2023. Be sure to check out the rest of the line-up! Galena LitFest is an annual literary festival organized by the Galena Public Library with generous support from the Friends of the Galena Public Library.
