Events
* NO UPCOMING EVENTS *
PAST EVENTS
Reading
“Things We Can’t Pronounce,” read for Spokane YWCA's Stand Against Racism event.
April 22, 2021
Reading
“Turkeys&Tightropes&Trying&Trying&Trying,” read for Spokane Arts' In the Neighborhood series.
March 2021
Writing Workshop
“Who Said That?” Crafting Quality Dialogue, taught for the Spokane County Library District's 4th Annual Writing Conference.
October 26, 2019
Workshop description: How can I create realistic conversations that feel both believable and vibrant? Often, dialogue can make or break a scene in a story. In this workshop, we will take a look at some examples of "good dialogue" and "bad dialogue." We'll talk about "said" vs. "yelled" vs. "cried," and any other way a character can say or exclaim something, and we'll look at the positives and negatives of using those different dialogue tags. This workshop will provide you with some tools to get your characters conversing in a way that is meaningful and unforgettable.
Writing Workshop
Where Do I Begin? Using Storytelling as an Entry Point for Writing, taught for the Palouse Writer’s Guild.
March 23, 2019
Workshop description: Storytelling and the personal narrative are powerful tools in helping you understand yourself and others. In this generative workshop, you will be introduced to a handful of different "storytelling" methods which can serve as an entry point for writing your story. With a brief history of storytelling, the oral tradition, and its importance and impact on writing and education today, you will leave this workshop with the tools you need to tell, write, and share your story.
Writing Workshop
Writing on the Margins, taught for the Spokane County Library District's 3rd Annual Writing Conference.
October 20, 2018
Workshop Description: Grappling with and understanding marginalized identities can be a difficult and complex process. Writing and storytelling are excellent ways to understand who you are and why that matters. If you’ve ever walked around a bookstore or library and wished there were more books and stories with characters like you, then this is the workshop for you.
Panel Discussion
Writing Beyond the Binary, for Eastern Washington University’s Get Lit! Festival
April 27, 2018
Panel Description: Writing is a mode of expression that takes as many forms as the authors who construct it. Join us for a panel of up-and-coming trans, non-binary, and queer writers on how their identities shape their writing lives.
Research Conference
“Behind Bars: The Capitalistic Struggle in Orange is the New Black,” presented for the Spokane Intercollegiate Research Conference
April 22, 2017
Paper Abstract: Capitalism is alive and thriving in Netflix's Orange is the New Black series. A Marxist analysis of Season Three uncovers the plight of the protagonist, Piper Chapman, and her ascent through the capitalistic hierarchy that is present behind bars at the Litchfield Penitentiary. Capitalism produces two distinct binaries: the proletariat and the bourgeoisie, which both take form on screen. Upon entering Litchfield, Piper can be seen as a part of the proletariat, working for nothing, contributing to the great overall mechanism of capitalism. However, throughout the season, Piper gains cultural capital, starting an illicit side business and making a profit off her workers. In this shift, Piper ascends the hierarchy and finds a comfortable seat among the bourgeoisie with her hardly paid employees vying below her for a chance at underpaid work. Through commodification of underwear and a secret underground sales campaign, the soiled underwear of her inmates becomes of incredible exchange value. Through Piper's reign, she begins to create a capitalistic society within the overarching capitalistic society of the prison. As Piper gains momentum and cultural capital, false consciousness acts almost like a drug, deluding her from the fact that she is still an inmate in prison. Though Marxists would criticize the ways in which commodities and money are valued over human lives, they would also applaud the creators of the series, as they position the show in a way that forces viewers to be both aware and critical of capitalistic society.