Saturday, February 13 & Sunday, February 14 (see times below)
Investment: $269
Telling our stories of trauma can be excruciating, and the process—if not undertaken carefully—can further damage our nervous systems. But for some of us the task is spiritually mandatory, demanding that we lean forward into a process not just of drafting, but of transforming. In this two-day workshop hosted on Zoom, we’ll explore what it looks like to surrender to a writing process that is operating on multiple planes, while digging into the specifics of crafting inventive and powerful art from difficult stories.
This workshop begins with an overview of how the physiological processes of trauma and shame interact with a writing practice. Over the sessions that follow, we’ll focus on the craft problems specific to trauma, including the fragmentation of memory, the tendency toward black and white character-building, the temptation of melodrama, and the stigmatization of telling these brutal true stories. We’ll also steer into some of the embodied problems of trauma writing, including “writer’s block,” procrastination, and the boundary-setting and presence required to move forward on difficult sections. Through two days of powerful interactive lectures and exercises that help participants generate, organize, and more deeply understand their material, writers will see new possibilities for their own work— and the self they might become in the process.
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 13
Trauma Writing Overview + Introductions from 11:00am- 1:15pm MT
Structuring the Trauma Narrative from 2:30pm- 4:45pm MT
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14
Characterization in the Trauma Narrative from 10:00am-12:15pm MT
Framing & Research In the Trauma Narrative from 4:00pm-6:15pm MT
Some further helpful notes:
Registrations (partial or full) are not refundable within one week of the class start date. To work out an alternate payment plan, please contact Kati’s assistant Kristen.
This class is not a support group, nor is it intended to take the place of mental healthcare.
While writers may be invited to read from their in-class prompt writing, this is not a space where we will be able to offer feedback on your pre-written essay.
Writers should expect to read a set of essays before our time together. These works will form the backbone of our discussions.
For one of our exercises, writers will need a packet of sticky notes or white paper cut up into slips (about the size of your preferred sticky notes). For another exercise, writers will need a piece of blank paper and a pen, pencil, or marker. Otherwise, writers may use their preferred writing materials.
While I understand that taking care of yourself sometimes requires stepping away, I do ask that you sign up for the class with the initial intention to remain for the duration. My teaching style is quite dynamic and we will, at times, discuss things out of order or wander into unexpected territory, seeing the “topics” blur together; therefore, the sessions as they are listed now may change slightly when we are holding space together, and cannot be purchased individually.
Although class will meet only during the specified times, it is highly recommended to consider the break times and hours between sessions as part of the course. If you can, aside space for personal regeneration—a nap, a walk in nature, meditation, journaling, painting, stretching, chatting with a friend about the class, even just staring at the wall.
Those with chaotic home environments might consider whether there is somewhere they can go to take quieter space for this course— though, of course, it’s understood that we’re in a pandemic and not everyone has the privilege of renting an exterior space.
Class minimum: 7 participants. Class maximum: 25 participants.
Kati brings to this class more than 30 hours of training at the Arizona Trauma Institute, countless hours of her own personal study, and four years teaching trauma writing and supporting clients through the problems of their trauma narratives. Her book, Lightning Flowers: My Journey to Uncover the Cost of Saving a Life, required an brutal, multiyear trauma writing process that honed her unique pedagogy. As a sexuality educator, she has held space for more than 8,500 people; as a soul, her study in tarot, Reiki, and Post-Daoist philosophy help her hold a deep, rich space for other writers.
“Kati’s workshop on writing the trauma essay was invaluable to my writing process. I feel more prepared to wade into a story that I have been writing around, but haven’t been able to write directly through to the heart of the story. Kati’s instruction was smart, empathetic, and encouraging. The tools, exercises, and reading she had us work with in class gave me the opportunity to write and explore my own story in a safe and welcoming environment. I encourage any writer working on a story of a traumatic experience to take a class from Kati. It has energized me and given me strength to continue writing my own story.”
“I loved this class. It was extraordinary. Maybe I couldn’t have handled it or wasn’t ready at another time in my life. We descended into an abyss of pain. And explored the incomprehensible and the chaotic. Individually and collectively there was so much growth. I read the news from a new perspective now. Realized that most assault, terror, brutality, violence is written or framed by men or male journalists or editors who are making observations. They are constructing stories from the outside. The first person narratives are powerful. Unforgettable. Brave. Wounding. Disrupt mainstream assumptions. And my own expectations. I wouldn’t change a thing. Thank you for offering a vast landscape of voices.”