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Meet THe Team
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Blackout poetry is a writing style that is generated through erasure, where writers reimagine a pre-existing body of text into their own body of work. This hands-on workshop is designed to help students access their voice by physically interacting with the brainstorming process. Students will be guided with mixed media to piece together provided materials, which include sections of photography and fiction books. Exercises that emphasize storytelling will also be offered to assist students with the activity. Students from all backgrounds and expertise are encouraged to join, and bring their own supplies if desired.
• In-Class Writing Lift: Light
• Homework: None
• Workshopping Drafts: Optional
Alexis Özden (Öz) is an organizer and mixed-media artist who explores generational trauma, somatic healing, and gender expression in their work. With an expertise in poetry/spoken word and an enthusiasm for collages and relief printing, Öz challenges the admirer to be introspective and critical of the systems from which they are entrenched, by facilitating a “third” space that actively breaks down the emotional, physical, and spiritual barriers that traditionally limit the actualization of one's identity.Öz currently facilitates the Nashville Radical Library, which is a radical lending library located at Random Sample. Öz also routinely hosts and participates in communal discussions and spoken-word events that take place throughout the city, namely in association with WXNA-101.5 FM, the Nashville Poetry Library, and A Place to Scream.
""I applaud Alexis for providing a safe and helpful space to approach such challenging topics, and I appreciated the rich discussion and invitations to respond in writing."
