| 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
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“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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