2 Sessions: Saturdays, January 10 + 17
4:00-6:00pm ET
Lidia Yuknavitch

Lidia Yuknavitch is a highly acclaimed, nationally bestselling author of memoir, fiction, and nonfiction. Her most recent book is the memoir Reading the Waves (Riverhead, 2025), which was praised by Booklist as “emotional and darkly hilarious,” and as "electrifying" by Suleika Jaouad. Her memoir The Chronology of Water is being adapted into a feature film by the actress Kristen Stewart.

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When I set out to write a life story, I immediately ran into a wall: I could not tell the story I wanted to tell by and through linear narrative or traditional “memoir” form. So I didn’t. If this sounds like you, come swim around in non-linear storyspace with me.

Instead, I asked, what if my body had a point of view? What resulted was non-linear storyspace that opened up to infinity. Or maybe a storyspace where my story could connect to all the stories that have come before and might come after, and where my body could breathe, swim, speak alongside others in a kind of chorus.

The invitation here is to explore storytelling modes that amp the primacy of experience and memory as nonlinear environments. We will do some generative portals together, and I’ll give participants some “to go” portals upon conclusion.

Session One will explore corporeal experience and memory as fluid environment. Session Two will explore image, sound, surroundings as sensorial storyspace and the self as sediment. We will read and discuss short excerpts from Garth Greenwell, Ingrid Rojas Contreras, Maggie Nelson, Camille Dungy, Diana Khoi Nguyen, and Joy Harjo.

Workshop Highlights:

• Generative writing

• Expansion of content and form

• Confidence in your own artistic vision and voice

To apply for a scholarship, please fill out this form by Friday, November 2.