Class

6-Week: The Mother Writer–Spring Edition

This multi-genre course is for anyone who identifies as a mother and a writer, and anyone who sometimes feels the tension between those roles. It's designed to give mother writers a place to write and to engage in a community of artistic support.

The bulk of each class will be time to write––something difficult to come by for a mother––and will be book-ended by discussions and opportunities to share work. Each class session will begin with a brief in-class reading and discussion.

Class texts include excerpts from The Mother Artist by Catherine Ricketts, poems by Maggie Smith, Jenny Zheng, and Dorothea Lasky, podcast excerpts from Bjork's Sonic Sounds, and images by visual mother artists such as Alice Neel, Senga Nengudi, and Carmen Winant.

After each discussion, students will receive writing prompts and have time to write to the prompt or work on their own projects. The last part of class will be an informal opportunity for students to share their work out loud and receive verbal feedback and encouragement from the teaching artist and fellow students.

There will be no "homework." As the mother of a toddler herself, this Loft teaching artist aims to make this class as accessible, productive, and supportive as possible.

Instructions for Accessing This Online Class

In order to access live class meetings, you must have the Zoom application downloaded to your computer. You will also need a WiFi/Internet connection throughout the duration of your scheduled meeting and a computer with audio and video capability. The information to join your Zoom classroom will be provided in your confirmation email upon registration. Please check spam folders if you do not see this email upon registration. For more information on how to use Zoom, please see our training manual here.

Some classes use a supplemental Google Classroom page. Should your teaching artist use Google Classroom, you will be invited to join the classroom via email at least 24 hours in advance of your class (check spam folders if you are not seeing this invitation). Please note that Google Classroom requires a Gmail address to access the Classroom. If you do not have a Gmail account, the email invitation will be sent to the email address we have on file and will prompt you to create a free account or enter an existing account to join the classroom. If we are unable to send an email invitation to your non-gmail account, you will be contacted by a staff member to provide a Gmail address. If you do not have a Gmail account, you can create a free account here. Should you have concerns about this, please contact a Loft staff member at [email protected] or 612-379-8999. For more information on how to use Google Classroom, please see our training manual here.