Bearing Witness in Dark Times

This class is for every writer who wishes to write without  looking  away from the harms and the horrors of this historical moment, who agrees with Quebec novelist Gail Scott that “...a writer may do as she pleases with her epoch.  Except ignore it.”  It is for writers in all genres. In addition to writing, you will be reading writers—of poetry, essay, creative nonfiction--who have specialized in reporting on the losses and atrocities of their time: e.g. Carolyn Forché, Amitav Ghosh, Terry Tempest Williams, Linda Hogan, as well as writers from the newly published anthology Dreams Before Extinction,  which gathers ten years of writing and artwork from the journal Dark Matter: Women Witnessing. I am founding editor of that journal and co-editor of the anthology. As such I work with writers in all genres to make their work shine. My hope for the writers in this workshop is that, like the writers in Dark Matter, they will discover that facing in to the dangers and losses of this moment can lead to writing that reverberates with both truth and possibility.  

We will meet once a week on zoom, Wednesdays from 7:00 to 9PM, for six weeks, beginning February 4th; and each participant will be able to have an individual discussion with Lise Weil about their work. Cost $300 Register