Writing Workshop ⟡ Love Stories ⟡ Queer Affirming 🌈 ⟡ 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 being seen by others expand or limit 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: Successes of Belonging ⟡ The Beloved vs. The Othered
So much of life and literature these days is about alienation and anomie—I thought it would be nice to get into our reflections on belonging this month with something of a success story: an essay about what it feels like to be truly seen and loved. Although our future workshops will feature longer works, this week's reading is short: just one page. It's also undeniably poignant and joyful.
We'll be reading Hats Off by Ivan E. Coyote.
Please read this one-page essay in advance of our workshop and come prepared to have a casual chat about it.
A free link to the reading is provided below:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/13Y__dE4kriSsG5GvKN7iMeeHg4xxhoqtLgN3swA_g8k/edit?usp=sharing
READ—WRITE—REMIX ⟡ Workshop Structure
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)!