Hello Litquakers, We’ve been thinking a lot about time recently. Isn’t it incredible that writing can stretch, shrink, and freeze the time around us? With words, we’re encasing memories and weaving new ones, exploring alternative ways of being, while reflecting on ways we’ve always been. In our Elder Project classes, we’re building community through this kind of reflection. Led on Zoom by published poets and writers, each class offers both experienced and new writers meaningful guidance and the space for creative expression. Are you a person of a certain age—or do you know folks who are? Join one of our lively virtual workshops, or tell the elders in your life about them. Students are free to drop in or attend a complete series. Wh0 knows, you could learn how to control time, even just a little bit. Find out more below. |
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Community Write: Storytelling & Prose Tuesdays 12:30 - 2pm, Aug 1 - Oct 17 Led by writers Michelle Kicherer & Denise Sullivan Via Zoom, through Downtown Oakland Senior Center (also open to non-Oaklanders) With a focus on fiction and storytelling, this class will foster creativity and meaningful engagement among both experienced authors and those new to creative writing. Whether you’re interested in transmuting memories to the page or want to explore the boundaries of plot and character, this class will encourage a comfort with self-expression and offer a literary toolbox to use for the rest of your artistic journey. |
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The Craft of Poetry: Sharing Verse & the Spoken Word Thursdays 12:30 - 2pm, Aug 3 - Oct 19 Led by poets Kevin Dublin & Christine No Via Zoom, through Downtown Oakland Senior Center (also open to non-Oaklanders) This class contain a mix of reading, oral storytelling, discussion, hands-on writing exercises, and sharing of your own compositions. Through an exploration of poetry, students will foster creativity and meaningful engagement among experienced writers, those new to the page, and everyone in between. |
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Writing in Community Wednesdays 6 - 7:30pm, Jul 26 - Dec 13 Led by writers and poets including Kevin Dublin, Antony Fangary, Lucie Pereira, Tam Putnam, & Denise Sullivan Via Zoom, through Community Living Campaign For seasoned writers or those just starting out, this class pairs discussion of great work with in-class writing. Find inspiration and learn craft techniques in a warm and supportive environment. Prompts allow for fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. |
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Litquake Weekly Literary news, upcoming events, and whatever else we’re looking at... “...Elementary plotting—is the written equivalent of walking down a busy sidewalk, the kind of activity we think of as easy only because it comes naturally to us. Yet this activity deploys so many complex systems that it can utterly stump a machine capable of solving higher mathematics problems in milliseconds.” On plot versus style, and the latest AI “written” novel Death of an Author • Slate “In Berlin last week touring his newest book, the NYTimes bestselling anti-finance thriller Red Team Blues... Doctorow generously made time to speak with New Models about the entrenched, corrosive models driving what we’ll shorthand here as corporate cannibalism.” Author and bourbon connoisseur Cory Doctorow discusses chokehold capitalism, billionaire payouts, and the reality of science fiction • New Models “Like many gays, a fictional world allowed me to privately explore desires (especially around sex and gender) that I couldn’t live out at the time–but my characters could...These gaps allowed me to fill in my own emotional narratives, like an adult coloring book.” The literary potential of teen dramas should never be underestimated! Read about the shifting tides of trans writing, and the struggle to represent the contemporary teenage experience • Bomb Magazine “The front counter has been transformed into a coffee bar with pour-over and phin gear, plus pastries from the Petite Sweets... and Jane the Bakery. Wine, such as Sammay Negre and Rosso Ranco Matto, now stand for sale next to friends’ art pieces and a lending library of community-sourced books, zines, and DVDs.” Open Book Project is the new Inner Sunset spot for books, wine, and Vietnamese coffee • SF Eater “In our latest Alta Serial, Kamiya embarks on a four-night, five-day adventure without sleeping in a hotel or at a campground.” Gary Kamiya’s story about urban camping in San Francisco is the latest subject of Alta’s 5-part tale • Alta |
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