The goal of this workshop is to introduce participants to various methods of writing creatively using archival materials as inspiration. While we often think of archives as places where research—in that most academic sense—occurs, archival documents can also be source material for creative inspiration. Although some writers may be familiar with techniques like erasure, workshop participants will explore other forms of “textual manipulation,” “archival ekphrasis,” methods inspired by Indigenous ledger art, and methods for combining archival research with field work to inspire writing. Because so much archival material is now digitized, the venue of the online workshop is an ideal space for participants to explore archival materials of their own choosing. This workshop is probably best suited to adult writers of either poetry or short prose (flash fiction/non-fiction), though any skill-level would be welcome. Workshop activities will include finding archival material, practicing with materials that I present, and creating their own work from their own found texts.

yellowarrowpublishing.com/workshop-sign-up/writing-the-archive-2023

When: 8:00 pm-9:00 pm EST

April 26

$25

Where: Zoom (link provided after registration)

Class Size: 20 participants

About the instructor:

Rebecca Pelky holds a PhD from the University of Missouri, an MFA from Northern Michigan University, and is an Assistant Professor of Humanities at Clarkson University. She is a member of the Brothertown Indian Nation of Wisconsin and a native of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Through a Red Place, her second poetry collection and winner of the 2021 Perugia Press Prize was released in September, 2021. Her first book, Horizon of the Dog Woman, was published by Saint Julian Press in 2020. She was recently granted a 2023 creative writing fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts.