Facilitated by Elizabeth Brogden, this monthly, one-hour Zoom session is an invitation to play and experiment in a supportive environment of fellow Parent Writers. This online gathering offers participants an opportunity to embrace parts of ourselves that are often neglected or under-valued in our "adult" roles as professionals and parents: above all, our openness to randomness, uncertainty, inutility, and potential failure. In this brief hour of writing in community, we will work to pry open our sense of curiosity, adventure, and willingness to err (in every sense)--qualities we often try to nurture in our children but often struggle to manifest in our own approach to writing, especially when we think of it in terms of job or career.

During this lunchtime session, we will generate material in response to guided prompts that address the tension between childrearing and book gestation; but the main objective is to create space for a certain aimlessness and ambiguity of purpose vis-a-vis language and attention that we don't typically allow ourselves to indulge in. "Writers' Recess" is intended as a permissive, free-range space for the imagination to frolic: 60 minutes in which we set aside the pressure to take ourselves “seriously” as writers and to prudently economize our time and energy. It is a monthly reminder that the recreational dimensions of writing are as important as (and indeed make possible) the occupational ones.

While geared specifically toward writers who also happen to be caregivers, any writer seeking relief from the constant emphasis on productivity and perfection would benefit and is welcome to join in!

PRICE: $13 for Porch members // $15 for non-members

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