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Reimagining Masculinity
by Braden Bomgaars
During my first workshops at Larimer County Community Corrections, I presumed that the participants would be timid to share vulnerable, intimate information in a group setting. This perception was exacerbated by the group solely consisting of male identifying individuals. Given that my presumption was built on false prejudice, I should have expected it to be quickly dispelled, but it wasn’t until I sat with these men that I recognized my blatant fault.
Growing up, I was exposed to and internalized narratives of masculinity that depicted isolationism as comprising manhood. Despite exerting substantial effort to deconstruct those pervasive narratives, I still found myself perpetuating destructive tendencies to conflate the visible as wholly constituting identity. Regrettably, I projected preconceptions onto my group. But even after just the first free write, the writers corrected my gaze to recognize how manhood was and would be imagined in that space.
In just ten minutes, across various styles and mediums (i.e., the lyrics to a rap about loss, ruminations regarding the difficulty of silent suffering, or a manifesto enacting a commitment to change) the writers demanded recognition as human. They offered this content with urgency and pride. As writer’s shared their words, the group was filled with nodding heads, shouts of encouragement, and affirming remarks. Similar scenes such as this one have unfolded across the subsequent weeks, cementing and confirming the practices of the workshop.
Any iteration of hierarchy was immediately dispelled by the group’s commitment to the horizontal bonds of community. All voices were uplifted and those that chose to remain silent were extended equal respect. In laying a supportive infrastructure, the space became a sanctuary to excavate emotions, examine pasts, and articulate aspirations. It became a space that welcomed with loving arms weakness and vulnerability, that celebrated the power of surrender and change. It became a space that offered models of masculinity that rejected histories of hegemony and isolation in favor of embracing vulnerability and interdependence.
Some days, the content of the workshop, guided by the writers, was heavy and introspective, while others it was vibrant and silly. Rather than a bug in the system, this dynamic was an integral feature of the space. The workshop was an opportunity for men to embrace the multiplicity of themselves and to explore that complexity in a collaborative manner.
Much of the work in defining the practices of our space was facilitated by conversation. Frequently at the end workshops, some iteration of how “important it is to have a space to share and discuss what’s going on and what you’re feeling” would be expressed. That sentiment was carried between weeks and guided the processes of sharing between writers in and out of the workshop.
These conversations also often directly addressed the narratives that the men had engaged and consequently internalized. One writer shared that “I was taught to be mean, if you cared you were already losing.” Following a discussion of shared or disparate experiences, in tandem with a commitment to improve his writing craft, he expressed a mission to “get away from all that hate. To love myself and more importantly love others. I’m gonna do that through writing a book.”
The writer’s examples and the workshop’s practices have reaffirmed for me what masculinity can be: empathetic, loving, and rooted in care.
Weaving together the Words of Women: Celebrating and Uniting Diverse Voices
by Hutchie Thomas
How does one navigate guiding the unique experiences of writers within a group setting?
Throughout my time at the Community Corrections Facility, I have asked myself this question a handful of times. After being with various groups of women for an extended amount of time, I have seen each of them thrive through sharing their words. That being said, it did not begin this way. Throughout this essay, I will describe some of my experiences, prompts, and the work we have completed both as a group and individually.
Being in an all-women environment has amplified the connections among group members. At first, the women attending the workshops often fluctuated, as it was not always the same people participating. After roughly two months, a more cohesive group emerged. I commonly lead a group of around 5 women, all of which vary in age, race, social economic statuses, and other identity-defining characteristics. Consider one writer, a 60-year-old woman exploring womanhood while balancing personal challenges that arise outside of the institution. Having little experience with writing, she frequently shares how insecure she feels about her identity and her work. Her writing embodies her tenacity and willingness to admit her faults. We, as a community, are seeing her path of self-discovery and empowerment as she grapples with the fears that frequently accompany the new realm of self-expression. We happen across another writer in our midst—a woman in her mid-twenties who is navigating the road to recovery with optimistic buoyancy. Her journals are full of promise while painting a vivid illustration of her strong-willed sense of self. In the dance of these two writers, I see an inspiring exchange of experiences, one seasoned by the passage of time, the other exploring the possibilities life has to offer. This is just one example of a harmonic symphony that bridges the generational and experiential gaps within our group.
To foster these relationships and shared vulnerability within the group, I have utilized several methods. In a recent meeting, we delved into a new type of activity that was centered around an Adrienne Rich quote from “What Does a Woman Need to Know.” I proposed this line before prompting the group members to write one sentence that could be the beginning of a poem: “I believe that every woman’s soul is haunted by the spirits of earlier women who fought for their unmet needs […]. Those spirits dwell in us, trying to speak to us.” A literary relay ensued, with notebooks being passed around the table. As each member received a notepad, they added another sentence to the evolving poetry, perfectly blending their ideas with those of their classmates. The end result was not just a collection of lines, but a real poem that reflected our group's diverse opinions. It evolved into collaborative masterpieces, a monument to the beauty that develops when women from many origins add their distinct voices to a common story. There is a particular poem that was constructed that I would like to share that encapsulates our experience from that workshop.
Untitled
It’s Crazy to think that “womanhood” could be reduced to a list of adjectives or nouns that I could use to check a list of boxes
Conforming to an ideal
Not me
I’ve never done well with checklists
Womanhood is a checklist of no conform
None of which any “man” could handle
Be that as it may
Just let them try
When the woman fails this checklist,
Doom and failure are cast upon her
I claw at and leave marks on the archetype i am supposed to embody
I owe no on anything
We learned that weaving our unique tales together creates a tapestry that celebrates our sisterhood's combined power, perseverance, and creativity. This practice has become a beloved ritual, reminding us that, like the passing of words around a table, our shared experiences navigating womanhood enrich and enliven our collective tale.
Creating a space where writing can be valuable
by Mary Kusbel
Community literacy, at its core, promotes healing and expression through a facet that may have otherwise not been explored. Community literacy also allows for people to find their inner voice, which could have been stifled based on past experiences. Anybody can be showing up to a writing workshop or a pop-up, but it is our job to encourage them to fulfill their creative talents as they engage in our work. People may be reluctant or resistant to writing due to a bad experience, a teacher who gave them negative feedback, or negative self-talk, so it is critical that they are welcomed to the writing experience to find a voice that may have been dying to speak.
This work is also important as writing can be therapeutic. Mental health professionals have observed that when people write and then talk through their experiences, it is comparable to cognitive processing therapy. But this is easier said than done. It is firstly important that no CLC member is trained as a therapist, but this writing can be used to express parts of the participants that may have otherwise never gotten out. Expression of identity is vital, as it allows participants to look within themselves and get a better idea of who they are. This introspection is not always as easy as it sounds – which is why we must promote writing within our spaces. By giving participants this opportunity, we are giving them a space they may need to provide for themselves and support themselves.
We are by no means giving participants therapy, but we are giving them a space to engage in therapeutic practice that can follow them through their lives. I am amazed every day at what the writers have to say. Even when the writers do not share, I know they produced work that was enough for themselves, and that writing was sacred for them. Creating a space where writing can be valuable is imperative for the healing process. Writing gives the power to the writers and the writing workshops makes every one of the participants believe that they are a writer. This is empowering and healing at its best, and why writers come back week after week. Engaging in a practice that allows for that much freedom in a space where others are taking the same risks is powerful and liberating.
This shows for the pop-ups as well. In pop-ups, people can engage in writing risks, where they take small pieces of themselves and engrain it into the community. This is community literacy, and we see it happen at every pop-up. People take chances together which creates a brave space. Not only is this empowering as a facilitator, but it promotes change. Seeing that people can band together and create a collective experience is enough to change a policy, a decision, or a current way of life.
We all wrote a collaborative piece together. The theme of the week was Halloween, as it was October 30th, and horror was in the air. We had finished one Exquisite Corpse-like writing where we could read what the person had written before us, and after having a fun discussion over what an Exquisite Corpse was (and I promise that’s a real term), we tried another go around the room. Here is that writing:
The shadows seemed to breathe.
Their presence was heavy and inescapable.
Raspy voices began to chant and surround my body.
I crave to run, my body ignores my pleas.
Frozen, I tried to make sense of this feeling.
Feeling the long, cold fingers of the darkness caress the back of my neck.
In the darkness, a chilling whisper echoed, sending shivers down their spines. As the clock struck midnight, a blood curdling scream pierced through the silence,
And I knew it was coming.
Book Recommendation
Published by New Village Press, their description tells us that the book is:
Poetry and prose by artists, writers, and activists who’ve taught workshops in U.S. criminal legal institutions. Among the questions they ask: Does our work support the continuation or deconstruction of a mass incarcerating society? What led me to teach in prison? How do I resist the “savior” or “helper” narrative? This book is for anyone seeking to understand the prison industrial complex from a human perspective.
All author royalties from this book will be donated to Dances for Solidarity, a project that brings arts opportunities to people incarcerated in solitary confinement.
https://nyupress.org/9781613322116/thats-a-pretty-thing-to-call-it/
Upcoming event on the SpeakOut! horizon
CLC workshop at FoCo Book Fest on February 11
Writing Home: Your words, our community
This workshop will feature the words, memories, and features of a landscape you know best: home! We will experiment with creative nonfiction writing elements and strategies as we explore the sights, sounds, and textures of Northern Colorado through words. Participants will produce a few pages of writing—and discuss how to growth them into a longer piece of writing with community at the heart. We welcome all level of writer; come ready to craft some community stories!
Do you want to volunteer to work with writers?
Let us know at clc@colostate.edu and we're happy to talk to you! Or find one of our interns in the CLC office in Eddy 346A -- they'll be happy to tell you all about the challenges, the highs, and the lows (not too many of them!)
And take several copies of our journals to read, and then get them out into your world!
Please consider supporting our work!
The CLC creates alternative literacy opportunities to educate and empower underserved populations, and sponsors university-community literacy collaborations. Through our workshops, we confront stereotypes of writers dealing with recovery, trauma, and confinement. We circulate the stories and creative work of community writers through print and multi-media publications. We believe that such dynamic literacy activities are key to individual success, cultural awareness, and a more socially just world.
If you would like to become a volunteer in one of our programs, please let us know at clc@colostate.edu. We are always looking to add thoughtful volunteers to our team. We will begin a new semester toward the end of January -- let us know before then if you would like to join. We train!