Welcome
Writing the Body
a writing workshop about embodied selves​
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To stride across the stage, and command the floor. To take up a wordless, powerful presence.
To vanish. To be reduced to constituent parts. To be nothing but body; meat.
To suckle another life; to give one’s self up for another. To rend one’s body apart, and produce a universe within a universe.
To hold another in one’s arms. To breathe another’s skin.
To be still. To rest in that beauty.
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Over the course of this four-week workshop, we will explore the body as a site of power, self-expression, healing, and more. We will consider the concept of “the wisdom of the body”, and what it means to be alienated or disconnected from our embodied nature.
Beyond that, we will consider literary techniques for describing movement, embodiment, and physicality: the thrill of an adrenaline-fuelled sprint in the last ten seconds of the game, the subtle movements of one’s breath in the closing savasana, or the graze of a lover’s hand on the inside of one’s wrist.
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​This workshop is suitable for writers of poetry, prose fiction and creative non-fiction.
By the end of the workshop, participants can expect to produce up to six pages of work, or rework a draft that they have previously completed.
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Schedule and Syllabus (Jul-Aug 2024)
This is a general overview of the workshop. Each weekly session includes readings, discussion questions, and writing exercises. While the sessions are organised by theme, exercises relating to more technical elements of craft will be woven into the sessions in a way that supports the overarching theme.
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6th Jul Sat | Introduction
Why write the body, and what are the ways in which we move through the world as embodied beings? What do we mean by the “wisdom of the body”, or the lack thereof?
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13th Jul Sat | The Body in Flow
How do we write about the body in states of dance, movement, energy, freedom, ease? When does beauty make itself felt in the physical realm; lighting us up with effervescent joy, or grounding us with unshakable calm?
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20th Jul Sat | The Body in Disconnect
How do we write about the body in states of illness, pain, trauma, dissociation, dysphoria? When does the body become a prison, a limiting fact, a mortal burden? ​
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(one week break)
3rd Aug Sat | Workshop
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Workshop readings will draw on the work of Patricia Davis-Muffett, Jennifer Moxley, Amie Whittemore, Joy Mariana Smith, Karen Paul Holmes, ila, Angela Carter, Madeleine L’Engle, Bessel van der Kolk, Hillary McBride, and others.
Learning Outcomes
This course is designed to be beginner-friendly. No prior experience in writing is required, but a good command of English would be beneficial. Over the course of this workshop, we hope to help you:
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Craft a narrative that is coherent and compelling, and/or a poetic vision that heightens the reader’s awareness of your chosen subject
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Learn how to give constructive feedback to other writers
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Gain confidence in having your work critiqued in a small-group setting, and
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Feel inspired and encouraged in moving forward with your writing
Registration Details
Dates: 6th, 13th, 20th Jul, (one week break) and 3rd Aug 2024
Time: 9.30am - 12.30pm* on Saturdays ​
Location: Your MOTHER Gallery, 26A Rowell Road. Nearest MRT - Farrer Park.
*Do note that those who are more than 30 minutes late will be turned away.
Workshops are capped at 6 pax per session.
Recommended for ages 18 and above.
Cost
SGD 175 for all four sessions
About the Facilitator
Stacy Ooi has been facilitating creative writing and art sharing sessions since 2018. She has designed and led workshops on fantasy writing and novel writing. Her work is published in Blue Heron Review, and forthcoming in the tide rises, the tide falls. She dreams of a world where we are gentle with each other.
