WORKSHOPS 2016 and Past

Summer 2016...


Memoir as Collage: Examining the Parts and the Whole

Thursdays from 7-9 p.m.

July 14 - September 1st, 2016

@ the Hugo House's temporary First Hill location

Register via the Hugo House: 
Hugo House scholarship deadline: June 23rd

In this workshop we will explore memoirs that are told in a non-linear, lyrical, fragmented fashion. Each week we will read and discuss excerpts from non-traditional memoirs by authors such as Lidia Yuknavitch, Nick Flynn, Abigail Thomas, and Sarah Manguso, and examine how they weave together their memories, themes, metaphors, and multiple point of views into a rich, complex whole.

We will also examine and illuminate the theme(s) and structures that exist in our own memoirs-in-progress by utilizing in-class free-writing exercises; outlining and describing our books-in-progress; receiving feedback from the instructor on your outline and a sample of your work; and submitting a sample of your work to be workshopped by the group as a whole (optional).

Examples of exercises include:
- writing from 1st, 2nd, and 3rd person
- writing from someone else’s point of view/voice
the list as a form
- finding and writing our metaphors
- writing and collaging from images
- incorporating other texts into our work (e.g. letters, journal entries,      photographs, etc.)
- many other prompts that help us to get out of our default approaches to writing memoir

Students will also be encouraged to read from a list of other book-length collage/lyrical/non-linear memoirs (e.g. works by toi derricotte, John Edgar Wideman, Marian Winik, Maggie Nelson, Jenny Ofill, Jacqueline Woodson, Deborah Miranda, etc.) to steep themselves in the many variations of this innovative, emerging form.

This workshop is ideal for intermediate writers who have already begun working on their memoirs, and who are ready to look closer at how to create a unique, organic structure that suits their material.

Feel free to write me with any questions: alkellor@gmail.com

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POSTPONED UNTIL FALL--

Awareness: A Bodily Exploration through Writing, Meditation, and Movement

with Anne Liu Kellor, Amy Selena Reynolds, and Alycia Scott Zollinger


When: Saturday, July 9th and 16th from 12:30 – 3:50 p.m.

Where: University Heights Center; Seattle; WA
Cost: $100 if registered by May 27th ($140 after May 27th); 
partial scholarship available

To register: contact alkellor@gmail.com; send in a check or pay via Paypal below class description and bios.

In this two-part, co-facilitated workshop, we will seek to build awareness around our minds, hearts, and bodies within a supportive environment.

In Week One: Writing and Meditation, Amy and Anne will introduce us to mindfulness meditation techniques, paired with writing exercises that explore our bodies and our senses.

In Week Two: Writing and Movement, Anne will guide us deeper into writing about our body of stored emotions and feelings, drawing inspiration from poems by Nayyirah Waheed, while Alycia will lead us in experimenting with what happens when we speak, stretch, and move our bodies through our words.

Together we will aim to discover how these different contemplative mediums can inform and feed each other, and to gain trust in our own unique ways of experiencing our bodies and the world. No writing, meditation, or movement experience is necessary. Just come with an open mind and a desire to express and explore in a safe, inclusive space.


Co-Facilitator Bios:

Anne Liu Kellor is a Seattle-based writer, mother, and teacher of creative nonfiction. She has taught workshops to people of all ages since 2006. Her work has appeared in publications such as the anthology Waking Up American- Coming of Age Biculturally (Seal Press), The Los Angeles Review, Vela Magazine, and Literary Mama, and she has received grants or residencies from Hedgebrook, 4Culture, Hypatia-in-the-Woods, and Jack Straw Productions. Anne’s memoir manuscript, SEARCHING FOR THE HEART RADICAL, traces her migrations between America, China, and Tibet during her twenties. To learn more, go to: www.heartradical.blogspot.com

Amy Selena Reynolds is a contemplative artist, a hospice volunteer, and a soon-to-be interfaith minister. Amy has practiced insight meditation for many years and enjoys creating rituals; building labyrinths; making collages, drawings, and sculptures; and studying spiritual teachings across traditions. She loves walking on the beach and in the woods, sharing simple mindfulness practices, and inspiring creativity in others. Born and raised in Seattle, she now lives on the Oregon Coast with her partner and cats.


Alycia Scott Zollinger  is Seattle-based healer, educator, performer and movement facilitator. She has performed around the globe as a solo artist and as a member of multi-lingual collectives dedicated to social justice and the pursuit of sincerity. Her classes embody a spirit of direct compassion and support to move more deeply into understanding, nourishing, and empowering the cellular pulses within our experiences. She weaves her backgrounds in dance, yoga, ritual and Butoh into dynamic offerings to provoke personal engagement, dynamic thinking, and authentic movement. Alycia has been dancing since birth, is a Certified Yoga Teacher, and is currently in the process of becoming certified at the Seattle School of Body-Psychotherapy. is a healer, educator, performer and movement facilitator. To learn more, go to: www.visionpreserve.com


Alycia Scott Zollinger and son

Anne Liu Kellor and Amy Selena Reynolds


Past Workshops with Anne:

Travel Writing as Pilgrimage 

Sundays, April 17 – June 12, 2016 (no class on May 29th

from 1-3 p.m.

@ Hugo House on Capitol Hill *and* at their temporary downtown location
To register, click here

In this workshop, we will explore our stories of personal questing, travel, and transformation. Each week we will write and share from prompts that help us examine periods or places through which we've journeyed; the motivation for our travels; the people we’ve met; and the ways in which travel has helped us to see ourselves and our life’s central questions in new ways.

We will also discuss the process and craft of writing creative nonfiction, as we read writers such as Gloria Steinem, Pico Iyer, Patrica Hampl, Jamaica Kincaid, and Rebecca Solnit. Students will have the opportunity to workshop an essay in a structured and supportive environment, paying attention to key questions like, what is this piece about? We will also look closely at each piece’s language, structure, the balance of scene and reflection, and at key themes or metaphors. This workshop is ideal for intermediate level students, who want to keep generating new ideas and material, but also are ready to take their free-writing to the next level through critique and revision.  


Feel free to contact me directly for more information or with questions: alkellor@gmail.com 


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Heart Beat: Writing as a Spiritual Practice


Thursdays, 10-12; February 4 - March 24, 2016


Do you long to write, yet struggle to establish a consistent practice?

Do you want to tap into the heart of you most personal and meaningful stories?

Could you benefit from writing within a supportive and engaging community?

In this eight-week workshop, we will write and share from prompts that allow us to delve into the depths of our memories, stories, and reflections. Each week we will also read essays, quotes, and poems from inspiring writers such as Mary Karr (The Art of Memoir), Cheryl Strayed (Brave Enough), Brenda Miller (Who You Will Become), Rebecca Solnit (The Encyclopedia of Trouble and Spaciousness) and Joy Harjo (Conflict Resolution for Holy Beings), and discuss the process and craft of writing creative nonfiction. All are welcome.

When: Thursdays, February 4 – March 24, 2016; 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Where: University Heights Center; Seattle, WA
Cost: $230 by 1/9; $250 after 1/9; early bird rate has been extended!
Includes hand-outs, access to writing resources, and individual support for your writing goals. Partial scholarship may be available for those in need.
To register: First email Anne @ alkellor@gmail.com to confirm space; then go to Paypal link on my Home Page or pay by mail. Let me know if you have any questions!


Fall 2015 Workshops 

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Mind in Motion: Reading and Writing Contemporary Essays with Anne Liu Kellor
Hugo House
6 Saturdays, September 26 -October 31
10 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Conversational. Lyrical. Paradoxical. Political. Quirky. Passionate. Intelligent. Compassionate. In this workshop we will read and discuss the works of popular essayists such as Rebecca Solnit, Megan Stielstra, Roxanne Gay, Charles D’Ambrosio, and Leslie Jamison. Each week we will examine the diverse range of voices, styles, ideas, and structures present in this dynamic form, as well as free-write from in-class prompts designed to help us explore our own questions, contradictions, and meandering paths of the mind.
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Many Voices, Many Selves: Exploring Point of View in Creative Nonfiction with Anne Liu Kellor
Writers' Workshoppe _ Port Townsend, WA Saturday, November 7th from 10-4, with a one-hour lunch break; $80_
Each of us possesses many layers and inhabits many personas. In this workshop, we will examine our personas, and write from many point of views (1st, 2nd, 3rd person; past and present tense, "hermit crab" form, etc). We will discuss how doing so changes our relationship to the material, as well as look at excerpts from innovative memoir writers such as Abigail Thomas, Brenda Miller, and Nick Flynn to inspire us in this form. Come prepared to connect to yourself and to others as you tap into some of your most essential material.

Many of us consider ourselves to be spiritual, yet what do we mean by this word? Spiritual experiences and beliefs are amongst the most difficult subjects to convey through words – especially in prose. In this generative, creative nonfiction workshop we will explore themes such as roots, ritual, impermanence, gratitude, and compassion through a series of free-writing exercises. Participants will be encouraged (but not required) to share from their exercises in a supportive, non-judging environment. They will have the option to submit a short piece or sample from their work for feedback from the instructor.

Together we will also read from writers such as Brenda Miller, Terry Tempest Williams, and Naomi Shihab Nye and discuss the craft of their writing. We will look at what "spiritual words" we tend to gravitate to and talk about how to avoid falling into the realm of abstractions or cliches. Optional writing and mindfulness exercises will be given each week as homework, and people of all faiths, practices, beliefs and non-beliefs are welcome.
Tuesdays, 5/5/2015 - 6/9/2015
10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Hugo House

Holding Up a Mirror: Writing Contemporary Issues

I'll be one of ten instructors teaching classes on ways to write thoughtfully about race, background, class, orientation, and more—of your own perspective and the perspective of others.
Self Critique/Self-Incrimination with David Schmader
But I’m Scared with Michelle PeƱaloza
Beyond Misery: Queer Representation in Fiction with Corinne Manning
A Poetics of Haunting with Jane Wong
Not a brothers keeper? How about an Ally? with Anastacia Tolbert
Writing as an Asian American with EJ Koh
Class with Charles Mudede
Writing Across Borders with Wendy Call
Writing About Race with Emily Warn
Hybrid Identities: Navigating Spaces In Between with Anne Liu Kellor

Saturdays, 4/11/2015 - 6/13/2015
10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Hugo House

2014 (past courses)

Writing Compassion: to be with, feel with, suffer with 

Saturday, February 15th; 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. (with 30-45 minute lunch break)

 

“Without compassion, we will never know anyone or anything, not even our own story. Too much judgment, too many ideas and attitudes will stand in the way of the fundamental principle that we are similar to, connected with, and part of everything else.”        - Deena Metzger, from Writing for Your Life


 Where: George: Center for Community; 2212 NE 125th Street; Seattle, WA 98125

 Cost: $50-$60 (sliding scale); one “pay-what-you-can” scholarship available.



If you seek to create more space in your life for contemplation, or if you have a desire to write, come join us for an inspiring day of inner exploration. In this workshop, we will explore the role of compassion in our lives through a series of free-writing exercises. As we practice writing and listening from a safe place of non-judgment and openness, we will delve into the sensitive terrain of our hearts, including: the many ways in which we love and suffer, the people we care for, and the people we struggle to forgive. Participants will be encouraged (but no one is required) to share from their writing, and no prior writing experience is necessary. Brief meditations and resources for furthering your compassionate writing practice will be provided.



“The truth is that we are all wounded. The only question is whether we use our wounds to hurt others or whether we use them to become healers.” - Dr. Cornel Wes



Finding the Heart of Your Birth Story

February 22, 2014 from 10-3 (with one-hour lunch break)







Where: The Good Shepherd Center in Wallingford (4649 Sunnyside Ave N, Seattle, WA 98103)
Cost: $65; with additional writing and feedback options available (see below).

Enrollment limited to 10. One "pay-what-you-can" scholarship available. Please inquire for details.



Most often, we think of a birth story as starting somewhere around your first contractions and ending with your child’s first breaths. But a birth story can also include aspects of your pregnancy, your efforts to conceive, or your relationships with others who were involved with the process. A birth story can examine your hopes, fears, expectations, elation and sorrow. A birth story might also stretch to reflect upon your first weeks or months of motherhood, and where the birth of your child has taken you both internally and externally. Whether you had a relatively peaceful birthing experience or an experience that was traumatic, giving birth is a profound experience that can be empowering to process and record.



In this one-day* workshop, we will explore our birth experiences through a series of free-writing exercises. Participants will also be encouraged (but not required) to share from their writing, in a safe and non-judgmental space. 

*After the in-person workshop, you may sign up for the option to submit a rough draft of your birth story to Anne at a later date for extensive feedback (see details below).



Whether you hope to share your story with others, to write it for your child, or simply to write it for yourself, this workshop can help you unearth deeper insight into the heart of your birthing experience and to articulate your story in a new and healing way.  


“What I loved most about this course was the chance to write what I needed to write. I assumed that I would write about labor but once in the class I wanted to write about so, so much more. It was also so motivating to hear everyone else's stories. Plus the fact that it was a class made me commit to sitting down and making my writing happen. Anne is a wonderful, kind, insightful instructor.”- Kristin AnthonyMalone 

(Please note: Although writing about your birth experience is often therapeutic, this is a writing workshop, and not intended as therapy. Many women whom have experienced traumatic births find it essential to seek support from groups and/or professionals to address the real and important issues and emotions arising from difficult birth experiences.) 


 

*Additional Birth Story Feedback Option:



  1. After the workshop, if you decide you would like to continue to develop your free-writing into a more substantial draft, whether for your own personal satisfaction or for publication purposes, you may sign up to send a rough draft of your birth story to me with one of the following due date options: March 3, March 17, or March 24.
  2. My feedback will consist of: a lengthy letter addressing your birth story, including: what themes I feel lie at the heart of the story; what questions I have for you; where you could potentially cut back or expand; how to improve the structure or flow of your piece; and other smaller editing or resource suggestions. All feedback will be given in a thorough, respectful manner, and will seek to challenge you to make your draft the very best it can be.
  3. I typically spend about 3 hours making extensive comments on a draft (that is about 10-20 pages double-spaced), as well as writing a lengthy summary letter. My editing/mentoring rate is $35-$50 an hour (sliding scale), with some considerations made for those in need.
  4. I am also more than happy to work with you on a future revision of your draft.


and last but not least...

Writing and Publishing Flash Nonfiction:  A Four-Week Intensive

Saturdays; April 19 - May 10, 2014; 
10 a.m. -1 p.m.




Where: Good Shepherd Center in Wallingford
Cost: $160 if you register by 2/28/14; after that:
$180 by check or $185 by Paypal (complete registration details below)


Flash nonfiction is a popular short form that is dense with lyricism and meaning. In this four-week intensive, we will dive into writing and revising our own flash nonfiction, aiming to push our own boundaries of voice and experimentation.
Together we will:
  • Generate plenty of new writing from prompts;
  • Read and discuss diverse examples of flash nonfiction;
  • Share from our writing (on a voluntary basis) in a supportive space;
  • Learn how to respectfully give feedback to our peers;
  • Discover online literary journals that publish flash (like brevity.com);
  • And learn about submitting work for publication.


"Working with Anne was a tremendous gift. She skillfully stepped into one of the most intimate moments of my life and held it with tenderness and integrity. Anne's insight offered me the opportunity to try on new perspectives that I may not have seen without her help. She was a sounding board - a mirror to reflect my own thoughts, feelings and words so I could go deeper. Even now, years later, I am filled with warmth and gratitude for the experience. It changed me as a person and I believe it changed me as a mother." - Stacy Scheel Hirsch


Tuition
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