This week, on the Stoop

Hey there, Rather than openly ruminating over the bleak political landscape, I thought I'd dedicate this newsletter to two upcoming Blue Stoop classes. I'm particularly excited about these classes because they challenge binary notions of genre. Don't be fooled by the long titles — these classes are beginner-friendly! All you need is an open mind and the will to try. Financial aid and payment plans are available.      One and the Same: An Autofiction Workshop  Autofiction blends elements of autobiography and fiction, blurring the line between truth and fantasy. In this 6-week class, participants will learn how to mine and forage their memories and lives to lay the groundwork for powerful storytelling. Through discussion and experimentation, we'll explore the foundations of autofiction as a genre and generate new or continued works of our own.   Instructor: Wancy Young Cho is a Pushcart Prize nominee for short fiction, the recipient of a Columbia Scholastic Press Association Gold Circle Award for traditional fiction, a first-place Written Image Screenwriting Award winner for feature-length screenwriting, and a Jack Straw Writing Fellow. His stories and essays appear in The New Orleans Review, NBC’s THINK, The Stranger, Salon, and elsewhere. He has led writing workshops at University of Chicago Graham School Writer’s Studio, Hugo House, been a writing specialist for School of the New York Times, and holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Columbia University.   Between Language and Music: Black Acoustemologies Acoustemology, a hybridization of the words “acoustic” and “epistemology,” emphasizes sonic ways of knowing and being in the world. In this three-hour, generative poetry workshop, participants will study the use of sound in Black poetics before applying these lessons to their own work. By playing with musicality and crafting precise lyrics, we'll begin to unveil new ways of knowing and being known through poetry. This single-session workshop is open to writers of all backgrounds and experience levels.   Instructor: Hiwot Adilow is an Ethiopian American poet from southwest Philadelphia. She is co-winner of the 2018 Brunel International African Poetry Prize and author of the chapbooks In the House of My Father (Two Sylvias Press, 2018) and Prodigal Daughter (Akashic Books & African Poetry Book Fund, 2019). Her work appears in Callaloo, The Offing, Reconstructed Magazine, and elsewhere, and has been anthologized in The BreakBeats Poets Vol 2.0: Black Girl Magic (Haymarket Books, 2018).   ON THE STOOP Wednesday, 1/22, 3:30 – 5:30 pm ET: Creative Coworking on Zoom. A generative virtual drop-in session with peers. Stop by for a few minutes or stay for the whole session — it’s totally up to you. You can use this time to write, edit, read, daydream, or whatever best serves your literary life. We will open and close the session with 10 minutes to check-in about our writing goals, obstacles, and accomplishments. (FREE/VIRTUAL)   Thursday, 1/23, 4:00 – 5:00 pm ET: Thursdays on the Stoop: Empowered Plotting. In this hour-long introductory workshop geared toward queer, trans/nonbinary, and disabled writers, we'll dive into the gate-kept field of screenwriting. Together, we'll pitch, draft, and revise our plots in a supportive, collaborative environment. Participants will learn about the three-act structure, form new connections, share professional resources, and gain new perspective on the screenwriting process. (FREE/VIRTUAL)    Monday, 1/27, 6:30 – 8:00 pm ET: Live @ Kelly Writers House, ft. Blue Stoop. Join us at the Kelly Writers house for live performances from Blue Stoop’s community of teaching artists. Featured readers: Anndee Hochman, Chukwuma "Chuks" Ndulue, Edythe Rodriguez, Enoch, and Kale Choo Hanson. Music by HUEY, The Cosmonaut. RSVP requested. (FREE/IN-PERSON) One last thing, apropos of… everything: community is the best antidote I know to feelings of despair and isolation. We're saving a spot for you on the Stoop — see you there?   In solidarity,   Julian Shendelman Co-Director   P.S. Looking for more local literary connections? Check out our community calendar and resource pages.   P.P.S. Our Community Access Fundraiser is ongoing through February 6th! Donate today and you'll get a special invite to an exclusive virtual author event. SUPPORT BLUE STOOP CLASSIFIEDS Got an event, organization, business, or book to promote?  Blue Stoop offers affordable ad space here and on our website.  BEYOND THE STOOP   Here's a quick excerpt from our community calendar. Adding an event is easy and free! ~~~~~~~~~   Event title Speakeasy Open Mic Night    Start time 1/22/2025 7:00pm ET   Location Kelly Writers House, 3805 Locust Walk, Philadelphia, PA 19104    Description Our student-run open mic night welcomes all kinds of readings, performances, spectacles, and happenings. You'll have three minutes at the podium to perform. Bring your poetry, your guitar, your dance troupe, you award-winning essay, or your flash fiction to share.   Link https://writing.upenn.edu/wh/calendar/0125.php#22   Contact info wh@writing.upenn.edu   Cost Free   ~~~~~~~~~   Event title Discussion and Signing of The Sun Won't Come Out Tomorrow with author Kristen Martin   Start time 1/23/2025 6:00pm ET   Location Barnes & Noble Philadelphia, 1708 Chestnut St   Description Join Barnes & Noble - Philadelphia in Philadelphia, PA on Thursday, January 23rd at 6pm for a discussion and signing of The Sun Won't Come Out Tomorrow: The Dark History of American Orphanhood with author Kristen Martin in conversation with Emma Copley Eisenberg. Pairing powerful critiques of popular orphan narratives, from Annie to the Boxcar Children to Party of Five, journalist Kristen Martin explores the real history of orphanhood in the United States, from the 1800s to the present, proving that the real history of being an orphan in America is nothing like the myth, and nothing like the American dream.   We ask that all attendees register for a ticket through Eventbrite and purchase their copy of the book at our Philadelphia Barnes & Noble location.   Link https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-sun-wont-come-out-tomorrow-w-kristen-martin-bn-philly-tickets-1028419910637?aff=oddtdtcreator   Contact info (267) 234-9790   Cost free   ~~~~~~~~~   Event title Cross-Pollination: Visual Art as a Writing Catalyst   Start time 1/25/2025 10:00am ET   Location Rutgers Writers House, 305 Cooper Street Camden, NJ 08102   Description In this workshop, participants will consider visual art as a catalyst for the creative writing process. How does one approach the visual in writing, and what do visual artists have to teach us about the practice of writing? How can writing draw on the abstraction and experimentation of visual art? In this class, we’ll approach artistic creation from a variety of angles, from the hybrid work of writer-artists such Leonora Carrington and Alasdair Gray, to traditional forms of narrative painting, to modern artworks engaging techniques of abstraction, collage and found objects. Using example artworks as a jumping-off point, students will play a series of generative games and exercises designed to encourage experimentation with form and language, before selecting a work with which they want to engage more deeply.   Link https://www.eventbrite.com/e/cooper-street-workshop-cross-pollination-visual-art-as-a-writing-catalyst-tickets-1102477974299   Contact info writers@camden.rutgers.edu   Cost $10-60   ~~~~~~~~~   Event title The Good Mother Myth launch party at the Small Works Gallery   Start time 1/25/2025 6:00pm ET   Location Small Works Gallery, 1609 North Delaware Avenue, Philadelphia, PA, 19125   Description Join author Nancy Reddy for the launch party of her new book "The Good Mother Myth: Unlearning Our Bad Ideas About How to Be a Good Mom" and the exhibit opening of the Good Mother Myths art show!   The easiest parking for the gallery is on E Susquehanna, on the right just past the gallery on N Delaware. Free and open to the public.   Link https://www.nancyreddy.com/events/the-good-mother-myth-launch-party   Contact info https://www.nancyreddy.com/contact   Cost Free   ~~~~~~~~~   Event title Free Library of Philadelphia Monday Poets 30th Anniversary Season   Start time 1/27/2025 4:00pm ET   Location Widener Library   Description Join the Free Library of Philadelphia’s Literature Department in celebrating the 30th Anniversary season of Monday Poets. This year’s theme is Sankofa (SAHN-koh-fah), a Twi word from the Akan Tribe of Ghana which loosely implies that to move forward, one must “go back and get it”. In that spirit we will be celebrating at each event a past Monday Poet and introduce a new one. Each month from September 2024 to April 2025 a new Sankofa pair will read at a new library. Monday Poets exists to inspire and connect poets and community members across the city of Philadelphia. This program, hosted by Widener Library, is free and open to the public. Previous Monday Poet: Marissa Johnson-Valenzuela A multi-disciplinary artist and writer, Marissa Johnson-Valenzuela's work has been published and supported by many great people and projects including: American Poetry Review, Gulf Coast, Prism International, Foundry, and the Bodies Built for Game anthology (University of Nebraska 2019) and Organize Your Own: The Politics and Poetics of Self-Determination Movements (Soberscove 2016). Marissa’s No Otro Lado, a full-length conceptual reggaeton poetry album about U.S.-Mexico is available on vinyl and on most streaming services. Marissa is the founder of Thread Makes Blanket press and the recipient of a 2020 Pew Fellowship from The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage. New Monday Poet: Andrea Walls Philadelphia Cultural Treasure, Andrea "Philly" Walls, is a poet, photographer, digital artist and grassroots collaborator. She is the founder of Museum of Black Joy and The D'Archive. Her work is informed by the artists of The Harlem Renaissance and Black Arts Movement and she is pleased that her writing, scholarship, and visual art have been supported by organizations she admires, including the Leeway Foundation, VONA/Voices Workshops for Writers of Color; Black Public Media, MIT Open Documentary Lab, Hedgebrook Residencies for Women Authoring Change; The Colored Girls Museum; Writers Room at Drexel University; The Studio Museum of Harlem; The Women’s Mobile Museum, Eastern State Penitentiary, Mural Arts Philadelphia; Forman Arts Initiative and FabYouth Philly.   Link https://libwww.freelibrary.org/calendar/event/141072   Contact info ereflit@freelibrary.org   Cost Free   ~~~~~~~~~ VIEW MORE EVENTS 1315 Walnut Street, Suite 300 Philadelphia, PA 19107, United States Unsubscribe or Manage Preferences