Evento

Moving the Body, Writing the Mind with Renée E. D'Aoust

Personal essay and memoir are excellent genres in which to explore the mind at work. Indeed, we often read "real" stories, because we want to know what the writer learned or how she or he changed over time. But how do you write the body while also exploring the mind? This workshop will explore the necessary art of building scenes based on body memory. We'll discus how to write physicality in many senses: whether through writing about sports, such as basketball or soccer; writing about movement that is also spiritual or artistic, such as yoga or modern dance; and writing about the physicality of outdoor adventures, such as hiking or cycling. It will be particularly useful for those who are writing about movement and the way training the body helps focus the mind. Generative exercises will be used to help you explore your past experiences in the world and your current place on the page.

Renée E. D'Aoust is the author of the memoir "Body of a Dancer" (Etruscan Press), which was a Foreword Reviews "Book of the Year" finalist. She has numerous publications and awards to her credit, including a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts Journalism Institute for Dance Criticism at American Dance Festival, support from the Puffin Foundation, and grants from the Idaho Commission on the Arts. Awards include Permafrost's "Midnight Sun Award" (fiction), Food for Thought's "Julie Harris Award for Emerging Playwrights," and AWP's "Intro to Journals" project (cnf). Five essays have been named "Notable Essays" in the Best American Essays series, and she has twice been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. D'Aoust's conference presentations include &NOW in Paris, France, two panels at AWP/Seattle, and two panels forthcoming at AWP/Minneapolis.