Autumn: A Writing Retreat

A generative creative lab with the Corporeal Writing Squad: Lidia Yuknavitch, Domi Shoemaker, Janice Lee, Daniel Isaiah Elder, Katie Guinn, and Jun Maruyama.

Friday October 17th through Sunday October 19th
at McMenamin’s Kennedy School (5736 NE 33rd Ave, Portland, OR 97211)

Every season is a portal, and once we step through, together, we are intimately in relationship with change.

Throughout this weekend writing retreat, we will ask how Fall shows us secrets for moving through change, and how language and art, in return, show us metaphors for making meaning in writing and life. We will put metaphor into practice toward creating new work. This experience is especially welcoming to writers interested in short fiction, lyric essays, and hybrid stand-alone works.

Gather with Lidia Yuknavitch and the Corporeal Writing Squad for a full weekend of writing, discussion, and metamorphosis. This retreat takes place at the McMenamin’s Kennedy School in Northeast Portland, an easy hop over from the Portland Airport and close to tons of great shops and restaurants on NE Alberta St. Lodging is not included in booking, but the Kennedy School does have rooms available and is known for its restorative soaking pools.

Schedule:

Friday, October 17th: 630pm-830pm container-co-creation; mini-writing portal; refreshments served!

Saturday, October 18th + Sunday October 19th: 10am-4pm; begin each day with coffee/tea/fruit/pastries and a guided meditation, then move with us through a sequence of generative writing portals, with opportunities for sharing and discussion. Lunch will be served on site.

Pricing:

The following payment model is inspired by and borrowed from the payment model of Bayo Akomolafe’s class, We Will Dance With Mountains: Into the Cracks.

This workshop offers a sliding scale based on your relative financial standing. In an effort to reflect disparity in economic condition and access to wealth, the following payment system is designed for those with more wealth to help cover the costs of those with less access to wealth and resources. We trust your discernment of your current financial situation and how you fit into the global economic context.

As you decide what amount to pay, please consider your present-day financial situation governed by income, but also the following factors: historical discrimination faced by your peoples; your financial wealth (retirement/savings/investments); your access to income and financial wealth, both current and anticipated (how easily could you earn more income compared to other people in your community, country, and the world; are you expecting an inheritance); people counting on your financial livelihood including dependents and community members; the socio-economic conditions of your locale (relative to other places in your country and in the world); your relationship to food & resource scarcity.

$550 Partner

$500 Supporter

$425 Companion

We always offer payment plans. Please email Daniel at registration@corporealwriting.com for more info, or if you are feeling challenged in any way by the financial requirements of participation.

A limited number of scholarships are available—email Daniel with interest.

Lidia Yuknavitch is a writer, a swimmer, and co-founder of Corporeal Writing. (www.lidiayuknavitch.net)

Janice Lee (she/they) is a Korean American writer, teacher, spiritual scholar, shamanic healer, moosh mama, and author of 8 books. She is the Operational Creative Director at Corporeal Writing and an Associate Professor of Creative Writing at Portland State University. (janicel.com)

Domi Shoemaker is the gender-free co-founder of Lidia Yuknavitch’s Corporeal Writing, where  Domi manages virtual drop-in, connects writers with one another, and leads writing collaborations online and in-person. They also offer coaching and editing services through Corporeal Writing and they would love to talk with you about writing. 

Katie Collins-Guinn (she/they) is a mother, artist, writer, spouse, and dirt digger. Her adult coloring book The Stoner Babes was published in 2018 with Microcosm Publishing, which celebrates diversity alongside the transcendental and medicinal qualities of cannabis, and is sold worldwide. She’s spent time as a contributing freelance writer for the Portland Mercury and has been published in Pacific Stone Zine, Call Me [Brackets], Entropy, Nailed Magazine and others. She knows how to make a spectacular gown from scratch.

Daniel Isaiah Elder (he/they) is a queer Jewish writer and a Lambda Literary fellow. Originally from New York City, they are now based in Portland, Oregon.

Jun Maruyama (they/them) is a queer, trans Japanese-American writer, interested in exploring hauntings, senses/sensations, the body, dis/assemblage, and gender. They enjoy listening to music, drinking coffee, and being around trees and old shops. Enamored by snakes and bees, liminal spaces, and the unknown. Constantly transforming. “Life and death were mine, and I was monstrous” by Clarice Lispector is a fav quote. They have a BA in Creative Writing (with minors in Anthropology, Japanese, and Literature) from Pacific University and a MFA in Creative Writing from Portland State University, where they taught writing and composition courses.