Loft Themes

Dec 14—The Skywalker Saga of Star Wars ends this Winter. As part of the Loft's fall theme 'If," this cabaret features writers and thinkers who are also fans of the blockbuster series sharing creative work involving Star Wars. Celebrations, critiques, and creature features abound! Featuring Saymoukda Vongsay, Matthew Kessen, Luis Lopez, Shannon Gibney, and Jodi Byrd.

As part of the Loft's Boundaries and Border Crossings theme, this More Than a Single Story discussion will explore the histories of transracial and transnational adoption in their communities, including the complexities of identity that are inherent in growing up transracially, the wisdom and unique perspective these experiences give to them, and the power of story in forming their perspectives.

As part of the Loft's Boundaries and Border Crossings theme, the Loft will host a special EQ showcase featuring artists troubling the notion of borders and enforcement. The event features Bobby Wilson, with opening performances by Peuo Tuy, Roy G. Guzmán, and Kokou Doeh.

As part of the Loft's Boundaries and Border Crossings theme, writer, artist, and educator Glenda Reed will host a reading and panel discussion with feminist authors Ann Bancroft, V.V. Ganeshananthan, Carolyn Holbrook, and Ellie Krug.

STARTS JAN 31—Crossing borders and being a stranger in a strange land are essential tropes of science fiction and fantasy. These days, SF/F writers are vanguards when it comes to exploring what it means to transgress social and cultural borders in works like those of Nnedi Okorafor and Jeanette Ng.

FEB 1—This class will experiment with writing across boundaries and borders in craft (cross-genres) and subject matter (physical and psychological). We'll discover from mentor writers how to blend poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and scripts to tell of crossing a dividing line, touching an edge of experience in our own or others' lives.

FEB 29—In this class, we'll study elements of worldbuilding, with a special focus on borders and walls. We’ll discuss what they mean in our stories and what kinds of stories lend themselves to borders and barriers.

STARTS MAR 2—In this class we'll read writers whose work examines and deconstructs the physical and metaphorical borders that shape our lives. We'll study the ways in which journalism and memoir can blend together to collapse the perceived boundaries between genres.

This class will guide participants through short poetry and short prose forms to focus on diction, meaning, and sound. Using limited-syllable and limited-word structures, the class will move between poetry and prose with intention, to add lyric sound to prose, to choose stronger verbs and nouns, and to make more knowledgeable word choices no matter the written form.