Maker, Mentor, Muse Salon: Fictionalizing the Family Archives with Noelani Piters ($25)

Maker, Mentor, Muse & Alta Mesa Center for the Arts Presents:
Fictionalizing the Family Archives taught by Noelani Piters
Saturday, May 18th - 3:30pm-5pm PST
Zoom

Fictionalizing the Family Archives

What happens when we turn our attention to family, shared history, and that which we do not know? How can we honor the stories we inherit, while also incorporating our own perspectives? How can we use the idiosyncrasies of our relatives to bring fictional characters—and our work in general—to life?

In this generative workshop, we will focus our energies on the art of observation. We will examine fiction, poetry, and visual art that engages family and heritage through innovative and surprising methods. Then, we will use our own family histories as a jumping-off point. With an emphasis on sensory details, we will experiment with literary devices and points of view to create evocative writing that is rooted in the real.

Open to all writers, whether you consider yourself a beginner or a seasoned pro. No prior creative writing experience is necessary to participate. Bring your preferred writing tools and your own family photos—one or two (or many)!

About Your Instructor: Noelani Piters

Noelani Piters is a writer living in San Francisco, on the unceded ancestral homeland of the Ramaytush Ohlone peoples. She was a 2023 Moloka‘i Arts Center Artist in Residence and has received support from Disquiet, the Martha’s Vineyard Institute of Creative Writing, Juniper Summer Writing Institute, and Kearny Street Workshop. Her work has been published in swamp pink, Reed Magazine, and Pleiades, and she has contributed to The Rumpus and SOMA Magazine. She is the former Co-Editor-in-Chief of the Ignatian Literary Magazine. https://www.noelanipiters.com/

Maker, Mentor, Muse is a teaching platform founded in 2022 by Mary Volmer, Maw Shein Win, and Dawn Angelicca Barcelona. Hailing from three distinct backgrounds, generations, and spiritual traditions we believe community is essential to building a satisfying and sustainable literary life and that true success requires balancing all three artistic roles: maker, mentor, muse. In collaboration with Alta Mesa Center for the Arts, sponsored by Orinda Community Church, we are building a place where artists embrace practices that honor process, spiritual growth, connection, and ongoing community with other writers.