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Hours

Mon: 5 p.m. - 9 p .m.
Tues: 11 a.m. - 9 p.m.
Wed: 11 a.m. - 9 p.m.
Thurs: 11 a.m. - 9 p.m.
Fri: 11 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Sat: 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.



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Creative Writing

Creative Writing 102

W10-C01
8 Wednesdays, 7 - 8:30 p.m.
Jan. 20 through Mar. 3
$169 W&B members / $175 general public
Instructor: Greg Gerard

Continuing the work from Creative Writing 101 (not a pre-requisite!), we’ll use introductory, in-class writing assignments to explore the genres of fiction and non-fiction. Each week will focus on additional authors and styles -- including popular favorites like Maguire (Wicked), Benchley (The Deep) and Grogan (Marley & Me). Students will get the opportunity to share their work via e-mail for in-class peer critique. Snacks at every session.

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Writing through the Chaos: Mining Objects Telling Truths

W10-C02
6 Mondays 7-9 p.m.
Jan. 25 through March 1
$115 W&B members / $120 general public
Instructor: June Avignon

In the chaos around us—continuous change, split second edits, media hype—objects, people, and places whirl around our senses at increasing rates of speed.  How to cut through the escalating confusion and write with clarity of voice, intent, and texture?  Through a series of focused writing assignments, this class will address how to slow down the frenetic pace by mining the sources of  bombardment itself—the objects, “objectified” people and places of our experience, as well as the too frequently ignored interchangeable nature of these three areas--for uncompromised metaphor of meaning.  Select readings of essays, poetry, fiction, and journalistic pieces for class discussion to include selections of Emerson, Carolyn Forche, Allen Ginsberg, and Brenda Ueland, an unknown writer or two, as well as, time allowing, a viewing of a film.

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Art of the Personal Essay: The Mythological Griffin, The Dog Pound Mutt

W10-C03
6 Mondays 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Feb. 1- Mar. 8
$115 W&B members / $120 general public
Instructor: Len Messineo

The personal essay of 600-800 words, because of its use in end-page essays and one-page feature in general interest magazines, trade magazines, and op ed newspapers, has become an increasingly popular genere for both established writers and beginners. A hybrid form, as bastardized as the mythological griffin or a dog pound mutt, it is part science, part art, has elements of fiction, memoir, argumentative and expository writing. Its broad compass includes 1st person narratives, personality profiles, pop culture features, reviews of art, music, movies, scientific and technological advances, and the sociological, and political aspects of current events. This six-week workshop will study the craft of the personal essay, analyze successful models from popular magazines, and critique your manuscripts with a mind towards getting them ready for submission.

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Time to Write

W10-C04
12 Wednesdays, 12 noon-1:30 p.m.
Jan. 13 through Apr. 7 (excluding Feb. 17)
$190 W&B members / $195 general public
Instructor: Wendy Low

You know you want to be writing on a regular basis--for your sanity, for your soul, to record your life, observations and ideas, to understand your own mind, to get a desired project underway or completed, or to fulfill your dream or destiny as a writer--but something is getting in the way. Maybe you have never gotten started. Maybe you need to break through a writer’s block. Every Wednesday we will gather and write, explore techniques for carving out time and silencing inner critics, and share our struggles and successes. We will read insights from artists and writers into the creative process. We will look at what motivates us, what we let get in our way, and what it takes to get a habit established. By giving each other acknowledgement and a push for each new week, we’ll work on making writing a habit for life. The last half hour of each session will be set aside to write. (And you can stay after class and keep writing.)

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Brickworks: Writing the Perfect Scene

W10-C05
One Saturday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
March 13
Instructor: Len Messineo
$39 W&B members / $43 general public

Whether you write novels, memoirs, short stories, feature stories, flash fiction, the scene is the building block, the argument that when mortared together with other scenes supports your theme—in short, the brickwork of the story. The purpose of this workshop is to study and practice constructing the perfect scene. We will review all the elements of scene (action, dialogue, conflict, character objective, scene objective, embedded moments, beats, shots, point-of-view, setting, etc.), the way scene is cobbled together with exposition, and more. Class members’ scenes will be read and critiqued in class.

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Creative Journaling

W10-C06
6 Thursdays, 7-9 p.m.
Jan. 14 through Feb. 18
$115 W&B members / $120 general public
Instructor: Maria Gillard

A wide open creative writing experience for self exploration and personal growth, this workshop is designed to get in touch with the core of who you are. It will help you define your emotions, dreams, and patterns and see them more clearly. We will use a variety of exercises that allow thoughts and feelings to emerge in a fun and safe environment. Creative journaling is an extremely useful tool for self discovery and a good way to find deeper meaning in your life. Come with an adventurous spirit. Open to all levels of writers. No experience with journaling is necessary.

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Our Bodies, Our Lives: Memoir for  Women

W10-C07
8 Tuesdays, 11:00 – 1 p.m.
Jan. 26 through March 16
$169 W&B members / $175 general public
Instructor: Anais Salibian

As one memoirist wrote, “Our lives are written in our bodies. Our bodies themselves are stories of our deepest, most meaningful experiences...” In a culture which emphasizes mind and outer events, we often neglect to write about the life lived in the ground of our being. How fortunate that good writing must include the senses, the lived experience of flesh and bone. The writing prompts in this class will range from the lighthearted (hairstyles, high heels) to the serious (birthing, illness, safety issues). We’ll also work with choices in how to structure your stories and provide supportive feedback when you’re ready for revision or editing. We’ll create a safe, confidential atmosphere in which to explore the difficulties and joys of living in a female body.

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Writing Your Memoirs: The Surprise Story of Your Life

W10-C08
8 Fridays, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
Jan. 22 through March. 12
$169 W&B members / $175 general public
Instructor: Anais Salibian

If you’re interested in writing about your life but don’t know where to start, this is the class for you. We’ll discuss different forms of memoir and do writing exercises that will help you find the stories inside the flow of events in your life. Writing does more than put down what you already know; it helps you discover new meanings. We’ll learn the basics of how to “show, not tell” so that your writing can come alive. You’ll learn how to use dialog, description, action, inner thoughts and summary the way a fiction writer would to write compelling stories.

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Writing Aerobics

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The Beautiful Necessity: The Regulating Lines of Claude Bragdon’s Transcendental Architecture

Wednesday, Aug. 4, 7 p.m.
$3 W&B members / $6 general public

“In nature, in number, in geometry, in music, also, there is but one law, a law infinitely simple, infinitely subtle, incommunicable, evanescent. It is what Emerson calls the Beautiful Necessity. Gentlemen, let us build altars to that Beautiful Necessity.”
-- Claude Bragdon, “Mysticism and Architecture.”
Join us for an exciting presentation by Eugenia Victoria Ellis, PhD, AIA, who with Andrea G. Reithmayr is editor of The Beautiful Necessity.

First Fridays / Wide Open Mic

Hosted by Norm Davis
Fri., August 6
Admission is free.

Along with other local galleries and performance spaces, W&B will be open on the first Friday evenings of each month hosting Wide Open Mic, and a series of other readings and performances in our Verb Café and Performance Space. Known for its eclectic mix, Wide Open Mic welcomes poets, performers, and writers of all kinds. It is Rochester’s longer-running open mic, hosted by Norm Davis, poet and editor of HazMat Review.

Genesee Reading Series

Hosted by Wanda Schubmehl
August 10: James Cook & Sally Bittner Bonn
$3 W&B members / $6 general public, 7:30 p.m

Now in its 26th year, the Genesee Reading Series presents writers from the greater Genesee Valley region reading in the W&B Performance Space.

Senior Reading Group

Hosted by Norm Davis
Tues. August 10
Free and open to the public. 2-4 p.m.

Share your writing with other seniors in a comfortable atmosphere at W&B.

Members Night Events

Wed., August 11th 7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. Adult
Free to W&B members

If you aren’t a member of W&B, here is your chance to join at the door and enjoy a special read-aloud with audience participation on August 11th.

The August Member Night will feature a poet and story teller, sharing the oral arts of reading aloud with a chance for audience participation.  Come listen and see how words come alive in the throat, and a chance to taste them yourself.

The Bertrand Russell Society

Hosted by David White
Thurs., August 12
Free to W&B members, $3 general public, 7 p.m., W&B

The Bertrand Russell Society was formed shortly after Russell’s death in 1970. Russell was born in 1872 and worked in fields such as mathematical logic; philosophy; social, religious, and educational reform; anti-war protests and politics. An accomplished writer, Russell received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1950. This ongoing lecture series promises to enlighten and entertain. Monthly meetings are open to everyone, not just to members of the society.

 

 

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Writers & Books, Rochester's community literary center, inspires and instructs over 25,000 people each year through a wide array of offerings in nearly every literary genre. Believing that the written and spoken word are central to our lives and culture, Writers & Books celebrates, promotes and works to make them available to all. Writers & Books is located at 740 University Avenue, near Atlantic Avenue in the Neighborhood of the Arts.