SASFest Writer’s Craft—MATTHEW CLARK DAVISON

Friday, March 27

1 – 2:15 PM—SAS Writer’s Craft

THE LAB: EXPERIMENTS IN QUEERING FORM, VOICE, AND GENRE—MATTHEW CLARK DAVISON 

This session will invite queer writers of all levels to experiment with crossing genres—fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and hybrid forms—as a way of opening new artistic possibilities and deepening voice. Here’s a passage from the book that captures the spirit of the session:
“We somehow have to balance three things when we write:

1. We should write about something we’re personally interested in, preferably even obsessed by.

2. We should write about something that may eventually matter to the world outside our own head (but we don’t worry about that when creating).

3. We should write about something that will surprise our readers by its beauty—and, in the best circumstances, move them through the power of its aesthetic force.”

With examples from Jeanette Winterson, Justin Torres, and others, we’ll look at how writers find something like beauty in its opposite. What’s beautiful and what’s ugly is completely up to you. In fact, if you see beauty where others don’t, or ugliness where others don’t, you may have an advantage. Through guided prompts and short bursts of writing, participants will explore how obsession, aesthetic force, and nonconforming oddities can help queer their work—creating art that is personally urgent, aesthetically bold, and resonant within and beyond LGBTQ+ communities.

Hotel Monteleone, Lobby Level, Royal B.

Included in SAS Weekend Registration or $25.