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Meet THe Team
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Whether cataloguing or list-based writing, poets and authors of all genres have, over at least a couple thousand years, used this structural concept to organize a work. However, list-based writing has been engaged for other powerful purposes and possibilities: to create rhythm; evoke place, time, character, and affective space; to create sensory connection. Sometimes the list is clearly that – a list of specific items – and at others, the elements of the list are spread out over an entire section of a text. While it is not hard to find cataloguing or listing in prose and poetry here and there in snippets and phrases, many writers unleash the power of the list in overarching and captivating ways across genres.
In this class, we seek to discover, in reading a large variety of excerpts from authors in many genres and our own exercises, how we as writers here and now might use this organizing, descriptive, and thematic technique to enhance or even conjure up new prose and poetry pieces of our own. How can a list create a larger story? Infuse a moment with deeper analysis? Enliven, devastate, or populate a creative piece with points of impact? Creating lists, arranging them puzzle-like in different ways, and working from categorizing through progression, participants will come away with an expanded perception of list-based writing; will have a small toolbox of actionable techniques; and will generate new writing either as seeds to develop or fragments to infuse into writing already underway.
• In-Class Writing Lift: Light
• Homework: None
• Workshopping Drafts: Optional
Nina Adel [she, her] holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Hamline University. Winner of the Bellevue Literary Review’s 2020 Buckvar Prize for her lyric essay "Refugere," Nina’s work has been published in Flash Fiction Magazine, Moria, Breath and Shadow, matchbook, and many other publications. She is the recipient of a 2023 Yaddo artist residency and has received additional recognition in such diverse corners of the arts world as Glimmer Train, The Kerrville Music Festival, and Wolf Trap, among others. She is a Berklee-trained musician, craftsperson (owner of Blue Salamander Arts and Letters), and English professor, and is the editor of the recent anthology "A Lighthouse," a collection of immigrant voices from the Immigrants Write program, which she directs at The Porch. She lives in Nashville with her family.
"Nina was excellent. I was unfamiliar with the hybrid genre prior to this class, and she provided a clear framework. Her passion and expertise were evident. It was a great class!"
"Nina did an incredible job a feeling of community in an online setting. As a newcomer to the hybrid from, she created an environment where I could learn, but that was still relevant and interesting for more experienced writers."
"Nina is such a smart, kind and loving spirit. She facilitates learning in a gentle manner and at the same time inspires and sparks joy about this learning process. I love learning with her and my classmates."
