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Use code EARLYBIRD through September 10 for 10% off! Members, check your email for your special 20% off limited-time discount code.
History is not neutral—it is curated, edited, and often weaponized. In this generative workshop, we will explore how to uncover the stories buried beneath official records, challenge dominant narratives, and write into the spaces where voices have been silenced. Using examples from Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments by Saidiya Hartman and Mules and Men by Zora Neale Hurston, we will examine how writers blend research, memory, and imagination to restore dignity and presence to marginalized and forgotten figures.
Participants will be introduced to Leslie Grover’s research technique which begins with questions rooted in the writer's own perspective, then using those questions to ethically reconstruct histories without appropriating others' voices. Through guided discussion and a focused writing exercise, you will develop new ways to listen for what is missing, reimagine what could have been, and write with authenticity and accountability.
You will leave with the beginnings of at least one new piece of writing, strategies for uncovering overlooked narratives, and a deeper understanding of the politics of memory and storytelling. All genres and experience levels welcome.
• In-Class Writing Lift: Light
• Homework: None
• Workshopping Drafts: Optional
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Leslie T. Grover is a writer and activist. Born in the Mississippi Delta, she is a southern writer through and through. Her novella, The Benefits of Eating White Folks, was published by Jaded Ibis Press in April 2022. Most recently, her short story “Pie Crust” appeared in Waxing and Waning Literary Journal’s Blackout Edition. She is managing editor for PushBlack, an organization dedicated to social justice through Black history storytelling. She founded a small nonprofit, Assisi House, that uses the power of storytelling to enact social justice for marginalized communities. Leslie currently lives in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Her second work, a novel entitled Rootbound is expected to drop later this year.
Leslie T. Grover is a writer and activist. Born in the Mississippi Delta, she writes from her southern roots. Her novella, The Benefits of Eating White Folks, was published by Jaded Ibis Press in April 2022 and was a finalist in the African American Fiction Category for American Book Fest’s Best Books award. Her short stories have appeared in Waxing and Waning: Blackout Edition, SWING magazine, and Owl Hollow Press’ The Takeback Anthology. She is managing editor for PushBlack, a media organization dedicated to uplifting Black identity through Black history storytelling. Leslie currently lives in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
"Leslie is so tactful and knowledgeable with some tricky subjects. She thinks outside of the box, and made us jump out there too!"
"Leslie is absolutely superb."
