ITHACA—Tompkins County Public Library is pleased to offer a two-part writing workshop, Mondays, October 21 and 28, from 6:00 to 8:00 pm, in the Library’s Tompkins Trust Company Study Room.
“Where You Come From,” a writing workshop led by local writer Susanna Drbal, will prompt participants to deeper explorations of the complexities of self-identity through writing and sharing stories. In TCPL’s 2019 Community Read selection, “The Prince of Los Cocuyos,” author Richard Blanco explores the ways in which stories of origins and home both feed and complicate identity. Throughout his memoir, he lays bare his own confrontations with the mythology, nostalgia, and seduction of the idea of a “true” identity, along the way finding many rough edges that can’t be sanded down to fit any particular mold or stereotype of national or cultural belonging.
In this workshop, participants will explore, through writing, their own journeys through space, place, time, and identity. Through exercises, participants will discover narrative entry points to memoir or fiction based in personal experience. The workshop is designed for people who are willing to discover something new about themselves through the act of writing.
Participants should bring paper and a writing implement, curiosity, and a willingness to dig deep into their closest-held ideas of themselves. Classes will consist of discussion, warm up exercises, writing from prompts, and the sharing of new work.
Space is limited for this free program. Ages 16 and up. To register, go to: www.tcpl.org/events/community-read-where-you-come-writing-workshop.
Susanna Drbal writes short stories and memoir, and is working on a novel set in a town that is very much like the one where she grew up. She enjoys teaching all kinds of writing skills, and she is fascinated by other people’s stories and the way they choose to tell them.
The TCPL 2019 Community Read is made possible by the generous support of The Friends of the Tompkins County Public Library. For more information, contact Susanna Drbal at sdrbal@tcpl.org or 607 272-4557, ext. 261.