Writing Workshops

Considering Context and Narrative When Writing About Social Issues with Kavita Das

$125

1 Session

Out of stock

Saturday, 11:30 am EDT - 4:00 pm EDT April 20, 2024

Online via Zoom

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The current fraught socio-political climate is motivating more nonfiction writers to engage with social issues on the page. The personal has become political, and the political has become personal. In truth, the writer has long played a role as a witness, conscience, and predictor of social change. How do we write compellingly yet responsibly about social issues?

In this one-day nonfiction seminar, we’ll explore our motivations, hopes, and fears around writing about social issues. We’ll consider how to balance context and narrative to write about the issues we care about most in ways that resonate with our own motivations and desired audience. We’ll do this through readings, discussion, and writing exercises.

Course Outline
  • Introduction
  • Explore our Motivations, Hopes, & Fears in Writing About Social Issues (Review Concepts & Discuss Related Reading)
    • Related Writing Exercise
    • Discuss Writing Exercise
    • Break
  • Understanding Context and Narrative as Tools and How to Balance Context and Narrative in Writing About Social Issues (Review Concepts & Discuss Related Reading)
    • Related Writing Exercise
    • Discuss Writing Exercise
    • Break
  • Questions & Answers
  • Conclusion
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Led by

  • Kavita Das Author Photo 1 HR - Kavita Das

    Kavita Das

    Kavita Das

    Kavita Das came to writing ten years ago after working for social change and social justice for fifteen years. She writes about culture, race, gender, and their intersections. Nominated for a Pushcart Prize, Kavita’s work has been published in WIRED, CNN, Teen Vogue, Catapult, Fast Company, Tin House, Longreads, the Atlantic, the Washington Post, Los Angeles Review of Books, Kenyon Review, NBC News Asian America, Guernica, Electric Literature, Poets & Writers, Colorlines, the Rumpus, and elsewhere. Kavita’s second book Craft and Conscience: How to Write About Social Issues (Beacon Press, October 2022) is inspired by the Writing with Conscience class she created and teaches. Her first book, Poignant Song: The Life and Music of Lakshmi Shankar, was published by Harper Collins India in 2019. In the real world, she lives in New York with her husband, toddler, and hound. And in the virtual world, she can be found on Twitter: @kavitamix and Instagram: @kavitadas and at kavitadas.com.

About this series

Writing Workshops

We strive to make our classes the most inviting and rewarding available, offering an intimate environment to study with award-winning, world-class writers. Each class is specially designed by the instructor, so whether you’re a fledgling writer or an MFA graduate polishing your novel, you’ll find a perfect fit here.

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