In Mary Oliver’s poem “Sometimes,” the speaker famously encourages readers to “Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.” How might we channel this kind of deep noticing and reflection to locate new directions for creative exploration—to find our way to work that matters to us? I’ll talk about how slowness and stillness are embedded in the story of The Come Apart, both its creation and the themes at play in the text. You’ll be able to try your hand at slow writing through exercises that promote close observation, hand-writing, stillness, and playful revision.
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SUSANNAH FELTS is a writer, editor, and cofounder of the Porch, a nonprofit literary arts center in Nashville, Tennessee. She is the author of the novels The Come Apart and This Will Go Down on Your Permanent Record, and her writing has appeared in The Best American Science and Nature Writing, StorySouth, Literary Hub, and elsewhere.
"Susannah is fantastic! Encouraging, authentic, and insightful. I came away with so many useful ideas for improving and deepening my writing practice. I'm already putting them to use! Her prompts for re-visioning previous drafts were especially helpful."
"Susannah was great at loosening up the group and encouraging us to volunteer our work and our feedback for others' work. She set the tone for the class's constructive spirit and guilt-free approach to engaging new techniques for creativity and trying out new writing and revision methods. It was great!"
"Susannah really personified empathy. From the first class, I felt challenged and accepted."
