It's Giving Body: Writing About the Bodies We Call Home with Mathangi Subramanian— April 5

Bodies are WILD. In this class, we'll craft experimental pieces as nuanced and unpredictable as the bodies we inhabit.

Whether they're surprising us, disappointing us, or driving us bonkers, bodies are rich sources of literary inspiration. Drawing on mentor texts from Black civil rights poet Lucille Clifton and neurodiverse Dine memoirist Danielle Geller, we'll create poems and outline personal essays about the ways our bodies affect us and our relationships. Students will leave with the outlines of two pieces, and will have time to share.

What you will learn

• Tapping into Sensory Details: Use vivid, body-centered experiences to enhance your writing.

• Crafting List Poems: Create powerful, rhythmic poems inspired by Lucille Clifton’s work.

• Structuring Personal Essays: Outline essays that explore the connection between body, identity, and relationships.

• Experimental Generation Techniques: Try new approaches to unlock fresh ideas and perspectives.

Additional info

If you can't attend this class live, it will be recorded! Students will receive a recording the day after the class, and it will be available for 30 days.

About the Instructor

Mathangi Subramanian, Ed.D. is a neurodiverse South Asian American writer and educator who uses she / they pronouns. Her novel A People's History of Heaven was long listed for the PEN / Faulkner and a finalist for a Lambda Literary Award. Her middle grade book Dear Mrs. Naidu won the South Asia Book Award, and her picture book A Butterfly Smile was inducted into the Nobel Museum by economics laureate Dr. Esther Duflo. A Fulbright Fellow and a trained educator, she holds a doctorate in education from Columbia Teachers College. She currently lives with her husband, kid, and a couple of gerbils who are surprisingly supportive of her creative life.