The Writhing Society: A Salon for Constrained Writing Techniques
The Writhing Society meets to practice and discuss the techniques of constrained writing. We practice the methods invented by ourselves and by other writers, artists, musicians, and mathematicians. Tonight's session: Q&A with Art (Ekphrasis)
Join us as we will write in dialogue with murals, seen on buildings in Brooklyn, NY.
Ekphrasis is an ancient practice of using words to describe or comment on a piece of visual art. In “Writing about Art,” Marjorie Musterberg suggests that “[t]he goal of this literary form is to make the reader envision the thing described as if it were physically present,” whether or not the subject ever existed. A famous 19th-century example of ekphrastic poetry is John Keats’s "Ode on a Grecian Urn," written in 1819. Keats mixed descriptions of things that could have been visible on a Greek vase with things that could not have been.
In “Replica of The Thinker,” Matthew Olzmann comments on Rodin’s bronze that had already been cast at least two dozen times under the supervision of Rodin himself. The second stanza starts with “I too, feel like that,” a wonderful, short line to connect with the essence the image you interact with has for you. Will it be a Q&A?
This workshop will take place online via Zoom. Please RSVP to receive the Zoom link prior to the event. This is a community writing workshop and attendees are encouraged to share the work they create during the session. Please arrive on time and be prepared to introduce yourself by audio or in the chat. The virtual room opens 5 minutes before 7, and the virtual doors close at 7:10.
The Writhing Society, founded by writers Tom La Farge and Wendy Walker, was born and grew in the Proteus Gowanus Interdisciplinary Gallery in Brooklyn. We're now happy to have found a home at Brooklyn Public Library.
The Writhing Society combines a class with a salon. In a two-hour session, you can expect about a half-hour that includes introductions, explanations, questions, and warm-up; an hour or so of silent writing; and about a half-hour to share work aloud.
This is nothing like a typical writing workshop. This is a process-oriented workshop for people who are interested in potentiality, possibility, and the unexpected. We experiment by imposing specific and arbitrary rules, known as constraints, upon already-existing texts. Each workshop involves the intermingling of at least two texts — yours and another’s or others.’
We practice the experiments in a relaxed, supportive, playful — yet not undisciplined — atmosphere, and we welcome new members. No prior knowledge of constrained writing is required.
Given that entrenched discourses of dominance — from corporate-speak to psychobabble — give rise to countless forms of normalized expression described as or accepted as “free”, composing with constraints can provide a salutary escape, both from such forms and from the everyday patterns to which your brain subscribes. At the very least, the practice yields fresh ideas and serves as an aid to creativity.
