The Red River Valley Writing Project at NDSU is set to host "How We Survive: Writing it Down," a writing workshop focusing on survival stories, Saturday, June 27, from 9 a.m. to noon at Richard H. Barry Hall. Offered collaboratively with the statewide "Authentic Voices" project, the workshop is free and open to the public.
Kelly Sassi, project director and associate professor of English, will facilitate the workshop. She said participants will write poems, essays or memoirs about how they survived abuse, an act of nature, an accident or a loss of some type.
"The workshop is for anyone who went through any kind of experience that caused them to draw on survival skills," Sassi explained. "It could range from injustices in life to surviving a flood event. It's really open to what people in the community need in terms of exploring their survival experiences and developing that into a piece of writing.
Sassi; Denise Lajimodiere, assistant professor of practice in the School of Education; Fargo middle school teacher Kim Rensch; and Moorhead high school teacher Angela Cunningham will serve as instructors for the workshop. Both Rensch and Cunningham have completed a Red River Valley Writing Project summer institute, an intensive writing program for teachers. Lajimodiere is a published poet and scholar specializing in American Indian boarding school trauma and healing.
"This is an opportunity for participants who have survived anything to write about it," Sassi said. "Hopefully, we can support authors in developing a publishable piece of work."
A mental health provider also will be on site during the workshop.
The writing workshop will be held in conjunction with Authentic Voices' "How We Survive: A Conversation," scheduled for Friday, June 26 at 6:30 p.m. also in Barry Hall. The event features a book release and a 10-minute film screening.
Authentic Voices is a project of Prevent Child Abuse North Dakota and the North Dakota Department of Human Services. The events are funded in part by the North Dakota Humanities Council.
For more information about the Red River Valley Writing Project, visit www.ndsu.edu/english/red_river_valley_writing_project/. For more information about Authentic Voices, visit www.pcand.org.
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