Frida Kahlo, one of Mexico's most revered female artists, painted brutally honest self-portraits that revealed her psychological and emotional response to adversity and trauma. She was often alone, and in turn, worked obsessively with self-portraiture. Her reflection fueled an unflinching interest in identity and her divided roles as an artist, lover, and wife.
What can writers learn from Kahlo’s relentless interrogation of herself? Is this kind of intricate analysis and reflection of self necessary? How can it feed and layer our writing and our stories?
Creating oneself as a character is not solely reserved for fiction. Memoirs and personal narratives all benefit from nuanced characterizations of the self. But why is this internal exploration crucial to the art of writing? What advantages do we gain from an unyielding interrogation of our lives, choices, and experiences? How do we glean through all that material of the self and decide which details can be left out in one piece of writing, but are absolutely critical to the next?
In this class, we will discuss these questions and engage in deeply reflective activities to help you develop yourself as a character on the page. We’ll also examine how authors craft their narrative personas (which are often very different, story to story), and how and why the “I” can take on different shapes in creative nonfiction.
Use code EARLYBIRD at checkout for 10% off through May 6! (Porch members, check your email for your special earlybird discount code.)
Vanessa Mártir is a big-hearted, 1980s Brooklyn-raised bocona learning the heartbeat of silence in the countryside of upstate NY; an oil-and-water combination of imposter syndrome, ambition, procrastination, certainty, insecurity and drive. Vanessa writes essays, memoir and novels, is a wanna be poet & playwright, and the creator of the Writing Our Lives Workshop; the Writing the Mother Wound Movement, and most recently the Write Your Abortion Story class. Vanessa has been widely published including in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian, Longreads, Poets & Writers, The Rumpus, Aster(ix) Journal, and the New York Times' Bestselling anthology Not That Bad, edited by Roxane Gay, among others. She has partnered with Tin House and The Rumpus to publish WOL alumni, and with Longreads and NYU's Latinx Project to publish Mother Wound essays. She has also served as guest editor of Aster(ix) and The James Franco Review. When she's not writing or teaching, you can find Vanessa in her garden or hiking in an old growth forest. Find out more about her relentless belief in our stories at vanessamartir.com.
"Vanessa is one of the best writing teachers ever. I always learn so much from her, and feel so inspired."
"Vanessa Martir was an excellent leader for our class. She was warm and welcoming and inspiring. I felt her passion on the topic and her love for the craft."
"Vanessa added a lot of insight and allowed others to do the same. She was very personable, warm, and understanding."
