Writing Workshop ⟡ Lost in Translation ⟡ All Languages ✅ ⟡ READ—WRITE—REMIX
Details
Welcome to READ—WRITE—REMIX: a reading club + creative writing workshop + social hour! We read an interesting article, poem, or story, talk about it together, and write about it for 15 minutes. We then "remix" our thoughts by discussing anything we want to share. Then we write for another 15! And after that, we just hang out and chat ☺️🫶🏼📝
In this way, we come to deepen our understanding of the text, ourselves, and each other.
Note that this is an open language workshop. The discussion components will be in English, but participants are welcome to write in any language 📝🌎🌏🌍
Our Monthly Theme for May: Belonging
Every 1-3 months, our group chooses a special theme to explore in our events. This writing workshop is part of our May session on "Belonging." What does it mean to belong? How do you know when you belong? And how does language shape our sense of belonging? Those are some of the questions we hope to investigate this month, while offering Austinites a creative home in our own arts & humanities community.
This Week's Theme: Failures of Belonging ⟡ Translation & Mistranslation
"I need someone with whom I can struggle, and fail." — Jhumpa Lahiri, this week's featured writer
Feeling a bit lost in translation? Us too! In this all-levels creative writing workshop, we'll touch on:
- failures of belonging & their generative relationship to creativity
- the struggle to locate oneself & the search for a narrative voice
- the complexities of travel, relocation, immigration, identity in a global world, etc. Emphasis on the etc.!
This week, we'll also be be thinking about translation, mistranslation, and how we learn to speak. So immigrants and ESL speakers are particularly welcome and encouraged to come hang!
Workshop Reading: Teach Yourself Italian by Jhumpa Lahiri
For the discussion component of our workshop, we'll be reading Teach Yourself Italian by Jhumpa Lahiri. She's a British-American writer and the daughter of Bengali immigrants who later immigrated herself to Italy - and started writing novels in Italian. The essay is quite short (9 pages), but very thought-provoking!
Please read this essay in advance and come to our workshop prepared to have a casual chat about it.
A free link to the reading is provided below:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Orcy8Y8Lt_SHIp2nwe3Qm5-a2E9MHAcxGTnV1FwPvwQ/edit?usp=sharing
READ—WRITE—REMIX ⟡ Workshop Structure
We'll be meeting at Central Market on North Lamar at 7 PM on Thursday, May 14. Mostly likely, we'll be on the upstairs patio which you can get to by going through the inside cafe stairs. Look for our signs on the table!
Our workshop structure will be roughly as follows:
- Saying hello (names, introductions, pronouns)
- Discussing the workshop reading
- Free writing time [15 minutes]
- Sharing a couple of thoughts from your writing block
- Free writing time [15 minutes]
- Sharing final thoughts in a big group
- Optional post-event hang
Thank you in advance for contributing your unique perspective to our workshop! Whether you’re just starting to explore your own creativity or you’ve been committed to it for decades, we hope you’ll join us in welcoming all of our workshop writers in a spirit of vigorous encouragement, thoughtful engagement, and empathetic open-heartedness.
About Us
This group is a project by Difficult Friends, a community-run arts & humanities club: Website ⟡ Instagram
We empower Austinites to tackle Difficult ideas and projects.
Our core values are:
- creative growth,
- intellectual challenge,
- human connection, and
- civic imagination.
Our events are designed as intellectual workouts and creative experiments. We host workshops and discussions that push Austin residents to think harder thoughts, make cooler stuff, and connect more deeply across their human differences.
This is not an organization for the faint of heart. As our name suggests, we take pride in being Difficult Friends and in confronting Difficult challenges.
Meaning is Difficult! Embrace the Difficult!
About Me
I'm a writer living in Austin with my dog, Cookie. If you're interested in following my thoughts, you can find me at https://substack.com/@rachelsummercheong There's not much up there yet, since I've been working on writing a novel mostly. But I love long essays, fiction, and philosophy. I also like to draw and go out dancing.
Statement of Welcome & Inclusivity
Here at Difficult Friends, we believe everybody can be Difficult. ;-)
Difficult Friends is an inclusive community space, and we particularly seek to protect and welcome our LGBTQIA+, queer, transgender, and nonbinary members. Event attendees may be asked to share their preferred pronouns and will be asked to respect the preferred pronouns shared by other participants. Women, immigrants, people of color, religious minorities, people with disabilities, and neurodivergent folks seeking a diverse community are also especially encouraged to attend!
That said, no particular identity performance is needed, desired, or expected from our Difficult Friends. Come as you are and know you have a seat at our table, no matter how life has brought you into our community.
Photography Policy
The event organizers of this meetup may take photos or videos of our events. By attending this event, you consent to being filmed and photographed. (If it’s Rachel, don’t worry - she will airbrush any blemishes & imperfections xoxo)!