“Poetry is the way we help give name to the nameless, so it can be thought. The farthest horizons of our hopes and fears are cobbled by our poems, carved from the rock experiences of our daily lives.”

-Audre Lorde

Workshops

With over ten years of experience in the writing community, Christell has spent significant time in various workshops for writing and performance. She has led writing workshops since she was a teenager, and has been a part of various workshops since. As an MFA Candidate at the University of Miami, she has taught six college level writing workshops for beginner and intermediate writers. She continues to speak in the community and lead guest workshops both online and in person.

“When you write, it's like braiding your hair. Taking a handful of coarse unruly strands and attempting to bring them to unity . . . Some of the braids are long, others are short. Some are thick, others are thin. Some are heavy. Others are light.”

-Edwidge Danticat

Intro to Creative Writing: Storytelling in a Tradition of Witness

Through an intimate introduction to craft and storytelling, students will begin the work of drafting stories by harnessing their own creative voice and lens.

Poetry Workshop: Spirit Writing after Lucille Clifton

This is a poetry workshop advised by Black women writers, where we write the spirit: to the spirit, of the spirit, from the spirit. This workshop invites the divine, the demonic, and all forms of spirituality into the writing process to approach writing as conversation, much in the way that Lucille Clifton wrote herself.

Crafting a Storm: Discover, Develop, and Deploy Voice

A basic premise of this workshop is that powerful stories and poems often emerge from attentive reading, fearless writing, rigorous revision, and performance. Writing is a read art, a spoken practice. Some storytellers may be born, but all writers and performers are made.

Raise Your Voice: From the Page

to the Stage

Not every writer is a performer. Not every performer is a writer. In this workshop, we emphasize BOTH in the spoken word tradition of storytelling. This class is entirely informed by our social moment and the importance of raising your voice in spite of silencing and erasure.

Book a Workshop

Are you interested in CVR leading a writing or performance workshop with your group? Send a contact request below!