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Mission Statement
Because
members of the LGBTI community are often marginalized
and at risk, especially young LGBTI people, many of the traditional
forms of literary support and development are not accessible to these
writers. Financial issues and safety concerns create enormous stumbling
blocks to the professional development of many talented emerging
writers. The silencing effects of homophobia and transphobia often make
it difficult for LGBTI writers to find workshops, peer critique groups,
retreats and colonies in which they feel safe enough to do the
difficult and necessary work of writing.
Just as these writers are being under-served, the pool of skilled
teachers and mentors is being under-utilized. While there are many
professional LGBTI authors who are eager to encourage and support these
new voices, economic concerns most often require their time and talent
to be spent in more mainstream and lucrative endeavors.
Since March of 2001, Write Here Write Now has offered a variety of
writing classes and resources to the Boston (metro) and Western
Massachusetts LGBTI communities. The backbone of these offerings has
been a series of weekly creative writing workshops based on
contemporary generative writing models. Over one hundred writers have
participated in these workshops. From this starting point, the project
has expanded to include:
All of
these services are offered on a sliding scale with no
writer turned away. Two-thirds of the participants might not
otherwise have had the opportunity to study the craft of writing in a
safe and supportive community of peers.
The Write Here Write Now Online Community is intended to provide all of
the above services and more to come, to not only the Boston area LGBTI
community, but also, and perhaps especially, to those community members
who may be unable to participate in real-time discussion groups and
classes because of geographical or safety concerns.
Contact: toni@writeherewritenow.org