In Toni Morrison’s first novel “The Bluest Eye,” her character Pecola Breedlove faces unspeakable troubles in her young life and believes her problems will go away if only she had blue eyes. For years, women of color have been writing about how American beauty standards affect them, and for years, the beauty industry has been...
In this guided poetry writing session, we will question the power dynamics of beauty while exploring our own personal relationship to it. We will anchor our critical exploration of beauty in Black American literary traditions and music. From this framework, we will generate original poems that intentionally reflect on how we can assert and affirm...
In this workshop, we will use guided creative writing exercises to invent life “recipes” such as "How to Live a Life Worth Telling" or "How to Forgive Your Haters." The workshop is part conversation, part writing and part sharing. All levels of writing and life experience welcomed. Bring a notebook and pencil or laptop and...
A Partnership with More Than a Single Story, Black Table Arts, and In Black Ink Second Friday of the month from Sept. 21-Feb. 22 unless otherwise stated. 6:00-7:30 p.m. The program will be hybrid – you can join in person at Black Table Arts or if you prefer, you can participate virtually on Zoom or...
In this More Than a Single Story conversation, we will engage with Haitian authors Beaudelaine Pierre, Gabrielle Civil, Valerie Deus, Marie Cerat and Jaira Placide on the themes in Pierre’s new book “You May Have the Suitcase Now,” a collection of essays that explores home and exile, and all that we carry with us in...
After the uprisings for George Floyd and Daunte Wright, sharing knowledge inter-generationally is more important than ever. Join us for monthly conversations where young arts leaders will join our elders in conversation about their histories of significant milestones in Minnesota’s Black literary history. On Wednesday, Oct. 20, Alanna Morris-Van Tassel will join Arleta Little and...
In the Cento form, lines from different sources stand next to each other to create new narratives. This exercise encourages participants to focus closely on their favorite lines from various poems and helps them understand how the individual parts relate to the whole. In this workshop, we will work with multiple poems to create our...
How can writing help you reclaim life, forge new languages and build a brighter future after experiencing exile or separation from one’s home? How can self-awareness expand our writing and self in increasingly stressful sociopolitical contexts? In this workshop, we will answer these questions and examine the ordinary events of our lives – our location,...
November 23, 2021 is the official release date for More Than a Single Story's long-awaited anthology, We Are Meant to Rise. Edited by Carolyn Holbrook and David Mura, the collection features works written by More Than a Single Story panelists and participants. Reserve your copy at a local bookstore and plan to pick it up...
Carolyn Holbrook and David Mura, editors, will be at Next Chapter Booksellers on Monday, November 29 at 6:00 p.m. for the launch of We Are Meant to Rise: Voices for Justice from Minneapolis to the World. They will be joined for this hybrid event by contributors Kao Kalia Yang, Said Shaiye, Douglas Kearney, and Melissa Olson. To...
