Sat, Jun 6 · 10:00 AM MDT
Join Fireside Ink cofounders, Brenda Kahn and Loie Rawding, for an exclusive one-day retreat! We have partnered with Cal-Wood Education Center in Jamestown, CO to spend a day exploring the power of memoir and fiction on their stunning 22,000 acre property. The day includes two workshops, ample time to explore the bountiful nature of the Colorado Rockies, open writing time, and an evening campfire to celebrate our time together and share what you’ve accomplished. Lunch is provided for an additional fee, or pack your own! Please bring everything you need to enjoy a day of creativity and writing in the wilderness. Indoor workshop space, beverages and restrooms are on site and ADA accessible. Limited to 12 participants. All genres and experience levels welcome!
SCHEDULE:
9:30-10am – Arrival and get settled on site
10:00-11:30am – Workshop with Brenda or Loie
11:30-Noon – Independent writing time & Time to wander
Noon-1pm – Lunch & Time to wander
1:00-2:30 – Joint Workshop with Brenda & Loie
2:30-3:30 – Independent writing time & Time to wander
3:30-5pm – Campfire Celebration & Open Mic
Register here:
https://givebutter.com/p9ksij
*If you’d like to have lunch provided by the Cal-Wood chefs, please purchase a ‘Lunch Ticket’ for $22. Leave a note with any allergies or dietary restrictions. PLEASE register by MAY 21 to guarantee lunch availability.
Workshop Options:
Writing the Animal Kingdom w/ Loie Rawding – Whether writing from the point of view of a squirrel, letting a bear attack your main character, or loving the family dog, the animal kingdom is ripe fodder for our writing. This is a workshop about setting, characterization, and precision of the senses in relation to the creatures and environment around us. We will honor our animal friends by exploring the ways they, and their habitats, are depicted in literature and how we might better utilize the natural world in our writing; taking advantage of Cal-Wood’s untouched land to inspire new writing and celebrate the freedom and creativity brought forth by immersing ourselves in the wild.
Listening: Writing with Discernment w/Brenda Kahn – In this outdoor-based workshop, we’ll slow down and practice noticing. Each participant will spend time alone in nature, choosing a single object from the ground to bring back to the group. We’ll gather these objects at the center of the room and use them as a starting point for conversation and writing. Through guided prompts and discussion, we’ll explore discernment as a creative practice, how we choose which memories to tell, which details to use, and which words feel alive on the page. Drawing from lyrics and poetry we’ll explore and write from words and ideas that “light up” in our minds, helping to forge the creative path forward.
From Life to Fiction (and back) w/ Loie Rawding & Bren Kahn – Fiction or memoir? Poetry or lyric essay? Ever wonder which direction your project needs to take to arrive at its most successful destination? In this seminar, we will explore the fine line between real life and fiction in order to better understand what we’re writing and why. We will look at craft elements unique to each genre as well as the approaches that fiction and memoir share, try out some writing exercises geared towards clarification, and discuss project samples from the group to help answer the age-old question: what is this?
Don’t hesitate to contact us with questions at: info@firesideinkwriters.org
Brenda Kahn is a Boulder-based artist, celebrated for her lyric-driven music that blends personal narratives with broader social commentaries. She gained acclaim in the ’90s with her punk-folk music, leading to a deal with Columbia Records and praise for her album “Epiphany in Brooklyn.” She’s toured with musical greats Bob Dylan and Jeff Buckley and authored “Ode to Chores,” a humorous take on motherhood in verse. Her 2024 single “Alright OK” is available on YouTube and Spotify. Kahn’s memoir explores the transformative power of music and writing against the backdrop of the ’90s East Village music scene and is currently on submission.
Loie Rawding is the author of the hybrid novel, Tight Little Vocal Cords (KERNPUNKT), a Finalist for the Big Other Book Awards and a Lambda Literary’s Most Anticipated Books of 2020. She is an editor, creative mentor, and teaching artist with arts organizations across the country. Loie grew up on an island off the coast of Maine. A recovering actor and dancer, she studied performing arts in Boston and worked in publishing in New York, before earning an MFA at the University of Colorado. Loie is certified in Narrative Medicine (Columbia) and works with medical practitioners to improve patient outcomes through the power of storytelling. For more: www.loierawding.com
