CLC in the community
The Community Literacy Center presented a public workshop at the Old Town Library as part of the FoCo Book Fest on February 11, 2024. The theme of the workshop was HOME, and the 13 participants (largely adult writers from the Fort Collins community [including several CSU alums]) explored nonfiction writing through the sights, sounds, and textures of Northern Colorado -- and wherever the theme of ‘home’ took them. The workshop was led by interns Braden Bomgaars and Hutchie Thomas, along with directors Tobi Jacobi and Mary Ellen Sanger.
Watch for upcoming events in the community hosted by the CLC interns:
April 4 at Front Range Community College Student Center, Literacy Pop-up
April 7 at The Lyric (at ACT Film Festival Finale), Wrap-up Writing: Engagement and Empowerment
Upcoming in April at FoCo Cafe, Story Exchange Wall
CLC annual springtime Professional Development for all volunteer facilitators on March 22, 2024 featured an illuminating discussion with Sidewalk Poets of Denver
Mission of Sidewalk Poets: “Through creative writing, arts and healing-based workshops, emerging writers from underserved and underrepresented backgrounds gain resources and opportunities to share their voices, activate self-confidence, process the past, and receive support to enrich and empower their communities.”
Abby Templeton Greene: At the age of 12 she fell in love with the Spanish language, which then gave way to a passionate study of not only language but the many stories that accompany etymology; the story of immigration, travel, culture, activism and voice. This passion led Abby to 17 years of teaching in title one public schools. She loved her time teaching within the classroom but it also highlighted for her the many broken parts of our current educational system—the need for more student choice, autonomy, more creativity, and more student voice, all this led Abby to officially launch Sidewalk Poets. A writer herself, she has experienced first-hand the transformative power of owning one’s story and being able to share that story with others. As Co-founder and Executive Director, Sidewalk Poets has been Abby’s life dream.
Courtney Morgan: Sidewalk Poets is a shared dream and vision with Abby Templeton-Greene. After working in and with nonprofits for over five years, Courtney is thrilled to be able to collaborate on healing-based creative writing workshops, art installations and nature retreats with communities that are typically underserved and ignored by arts programming, as well as mental health and therapeutic supports. Her favorite part about leading workshops is witnessing the personal transformation that happens as people share their voices and stories, and are received, seen and heard. As well as the community connection and collaboration that builds when we use creative expression to open to vulnerability and shared humanity.
To learn more about Sidewalk Poets visit: https://sidewalkpoets.org/
What makes a writer?
by Mary Kusbel
I ask myself this in my workshops, in the pop-ups, and even when I journal alone in my room with nobody there to answer. I wonder if people in the workshops and pop-ups know that I refer to them as writers, and how empowering this would be if only they knew. The power behind identifying as a writer is the voice one takes on when they learn of this newfound freedom: there is no anxiety behind thoughts that used to dominate that said, “you’re not even a writer, this isn’t going to sound good” or “why bother? This isn’t your domain” because you are now a writer. This is all fair game. And that is how I see the workshop and pop-up participants – they are writers.
I wonder what would happen if they started identifying as writers. I wonder if they would second guess themselves, or if they would start each reading with, “this probably isn’t good, but…” I wonder if my writers know that they are writers. I wonder if the community knows that they are writers. I wonder what would happen if we broke the stigma on who a writer is.
So, what makes a writer? Someone who writes – emails, letters, papers, assignments, reports, grocery lists, anything. This will bridge the gap between community literacy and community, those who are too scared to participate because “they just aren’t writers.” They are writers. I see this when the writers are nervous to share but read aloud their piece that resonates with the whole room. We are writers. In community literacy, it is foundational that the individual voice shares through the crowd. People are given the opportunity to shine, to speak up, and participate as writers. This can be limiting if they do not identify as writers, and this can even hold them back from participating. Convincing everybody that they are writers is no easy feat, but if it means one more voice will be shared in a pop-up or a workshop, it is a feat accomplished.
Once SpeakOut! writers identify as a writers it reflects in their confidence, respect, and compassion toward their writing and others’ writing as well. They no longer view writing as an enigma, something abstract to be dissected or understood – it is now on their level, on their playing field. Writing is accepted, and something can be taken from it. Writing is meant to be learned from and meant to help us grow. Writing can even heal. But how empowering is it to identify with something that heals you? Writing, as Louise DeSalvo writes in “Writing As a Way of Healing: How Telling Our Stories Transforms Our Lives,” can make those in despair more hopeful, as well as “foster resilience” (p. 73).
In my workshop at Aspen Ridge Recovery, I have seen that breaking the stigma on who is a writer means breaking down some of the anxieties. Writers are not just the famed writers. It is within a SpeakOut! participant's power to identify as a writer, not just James Baldwin or Jane Austen. Once they take on this title, they can break away from the anxieties that hold them back from fully embracing their work. Their work is not to be disrespected, as they write their truths.
Harmony in Words: Fostering Interpersonal Connections in the Workshop Space
by Hutchie Thomas
Building solid relationships with participants is essential to the success and influence of the creative space when leading a writing workshop inside a community corrections facility. In this special environment, trust serves as the cornerstone around which the workshop is constructed. In order to accomplish this, I start by giving a little introduction, talking about my personal history, and really pledging to provide a space that is secure, accepting, and supportive of artistic expression. Building this trust requires actively listening to the participants' tales and experiences. By engaging in reflective listening practices and providing insightful feedback, I convey that every writer's voice is not just acknowledged but also truly appreciated.
It is necessary to provide a supportive environment in order for the writers to feel at ease presenting their work. Establishing ground rules collaboratively, with input from all participants, guarantees that the workshop is governed by the values of respect, privacy, and positive participation. Putting a strong emphasis on a sense of community within the workshop promotes a culture of open communication and encourages people to express their diverse viewpoints and learn from one another. Many of the authors in the class have clearly forged close relationships with one another by exchanging intimate anecdotes and life experiences that have fostered a spirit of unity. Even though these prior relationships are beneficial, the workshop offers the writers a special forum on which to explore and present their stories via literary expression. It becomes essential to acknowledge the transformational potential of writing-based storytelling, especially for those who are already acquainted with one another's narratives. It is my goal to enhance these relationships and make it known that I am a learning writer just as they are.
Assembling a personal connection is made possible by each writer sharing details about their past, hobbies, and goals for the workshop through personal introductions, which turn into an essential component. Activities in small groups encourage conversation even more and provide a more personal environment for writers to work in. I enjoy having writers read another person’s work, especially if one writer is reluctant to discuss her words. In order to foster a culture where authors feel comfortable sharing their own stories, vulnerability is normalized and facilitators share personal experiences as well. The actual layout of the room is designed to be warm and welcoming, taking into account details like lighting and seating configurations. When feasible, individual check-ins are held, giving writers a discreet setting to voice issues. Encouraging feedback and words of support are essential in helping each writer identify and embrace their unique talents and attributes. An example of this is when a writer feels comfortable sharing their work to the group, I will encourage that and open up the room for further discussion. After this, I will hold an individualized conversation about what that writer is thinking about editing in their piece. Something I try to do in this scenario is lay out several options for brainstorming, rather than options of concrete ideas that they could incorporate. I pull up other prompts that have to do with their piece and ask them to jot down ideas or talk through their piece in general. Writers can discuss the dynamics of the workshop during regular reflection sessions, which helps to keep the environment flexible and sensitive to the group's changing requirements. Together, these techniques essentially create a writing workshop where authors are encouraged to explore and express their creativity in a safe and caring setting, in addition to feeling at ease.
We declare that every voice in this workshop is not only heard but also valued, resulting in a beautiful symphony of stories that reaches beyond the printed page as we negotiate the shifting dynamics of comfort and creativity. In the end, the workshop serves as a monument to the transformational potential of narrative and the profound influence that an accepting and loving atmosphere can have on the emerging voices within.
writing across difference
by Braden Bomgaars
My second semester at Larimer County Community Corrections has reaffirmed and in part revealed how the human ties constructed in the SpeakOut! workshops transcend any singular identity or group. The following is a collaborative piece constructed by the workshop writers attesting to the understanding and bonds created in the space:
These hands
By the Men writing in Community Corrections
Have been worked to death,
Hold a folded head wrought with the heaviness of having a body attached,
Have soothed young children roused by nightmares,
Wipe the tears from a friend’s face, who is now a stranger,
Have had vise-like grip on the shovel that began to dig my own grave.
Clean the sites of memories they wished they could forget,
Have handled substances and sought the weight of profit,
Bleed a father's blood.
These hands are the hands of God.
During my first semester, I recall the self-described “hive-mind” that had developed amongst the collective. It was striking as the writers – participants and facilitators alike – found and pursued similar strands in complex, multivalent themes. Despite rendering vastly different narratives and scenes, the writers continually touched on shared experiences that while lacking the same framing, had struck the same emotional note. While often humorous during the moment and attributed to a random coincidence or spark of inspiration, the pattern opened up conversations regarding being: what does it mean to endure the human condition, to occupy a body, and to write the subjective?
Now, more than a third through the second semester, the collective of writers has changed, and with it, new stories have permeated the workshops. And yet, the new group seems to represent a continuity rather than a rupture with the past. While the words and their structure have changed, the questions and bonds persist.
While the writer’s approaches were often distinctly opposite during sessions, it was frequently those contradictions that offered coherence to the topic of interest. For instance, when recently exploring our relationships to home, writers contributed to a nuanced understanding of belonging and connectivity. Between stories of dysfunction and harmony or broken mirrors and stable walls, a notion of home materialized that rejected the confines of a simple definition. Home, just like the collective ideating it, was multitudinous and relational. At times, home was alive and dynamic, for others, home was static and relegated to the recesses of memory. Home could be a station to occupy or a category to reject. As someone attached to a privileged conception of home, it served to expand my own thinking about home and how I will approach the topic moving forward. In that narrative and experiential diversity, new opportunities for conceptualizing home or other alternatives emerged.
Not only are participants engaged in recognizing human ties, but they are actively invested in shaping them. Often these moments stem from open, simple prompts such as “Create a utopia,” or “What is your relationship to the future?” Whether in the poignant social polemics that came out of discussions regarding futurity, or the questions of connection regarding environmental stewardship, the group is negotiating its relationship as individuals and as integral pieces to a broadly defined collective. In the transfer of experience and wisdom, regardless of the path walked to attain it, growth became possible for every person in the room and consequently, the world we all inhabit.
It is not despite the variation, but rather as a function of it, that the workshops echoed with connection. As participant share their words, nods of affirmation and tears of recognition are bountiful. It is in the recognition of a shared experience or the empathy of distant but near understanding that bonds are created. I don’t write this piece to homogenize the variability of lived experience, but rather to emphasize the possibility of connection in that difference. To recognize, despite destructive narratives of identity as estranging, that across and through difference in collaborative, creative spaces, change and community are possible. SpeakOut! offers a glimpse of that possibility, to bridge divides with the fabric of difference, with the tethers of being.
Call for volunteers and interns!
Know of a student or community member who would be a fabulous facilitator? We're setting up our team for fall 2024. Interns are 'closer in' and get involved in community projects as well. All welcome as volunteers. No experience necessary, all majors welcome! We train!
Interns must be juniors, seniors, grad students. Apply online by May 3 for internship at literacy.colostate.edu.
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!