The Writer and the Self Class Videos: Fall ’26
The Literary Center Soul Bone℠ is graciously hosting our class videos for easy access.
Week One: Tues. Sept. 1
Theme: Listening | The Reverberations of Silence
Week Two: Sept. 8, ‘26
Theme: Seeing with Visionary Eyes | Writing the Other, Writing the Self
Week Three: Sept. 15, 2026
Theme: Unpacking the self and Self of the Poet/Writer
On the opportunities hidden in making mistakes, recovering a sense of safety in TAW, and exploring different aspects of yourself through writing prompts.
Prompts:
1) What are mistakes you made and how did you handle them? What else could you have done to have a different (more creative) outcome? Watch this video with Janet Echelman talking about her mistakes and how they shaped her work creatively because she was thinking out of the box first (TED talk, about 10 min).
2) What secret(s) sit at the core of you that influence you or hold you back regarding your creativity?
3) Write a self-portrait "with/without" like Chen Chen did (see Extra Reading page). This page links you to Narrative magazine, an amazing depository of literary writing in all genres; you can get an account for free! Enjoy.
Other prompt ideas to mine characters in fiction or nonfiction:
I remember. I don’t remember. I love. I don’t love. I hear, I don’t hear. I believe, I don’t believe. I see, I don’t see. With/without… I understand, I don’t understand. I remember. I don’t remember. I know. I don’t know. I know. I don’t know. I want, I don’t want. I need, I don’t need. I know about myself, I don’t know about myself. My mother carries in her pocket book … She does not carry ... My father/uncle/grandfather/best friend carries in his pocket /does not carry... etc.
Week Four:
Theme: Reading Sun and Moon: Culturing Metaphoric Awareness
Week Five:
Theme: The Obvious and the Hidden: Culturing Creative Intuition
Prompts
1. Write a scene between your small self and Soul or Large Self. They are in a room. A knock on the door, and when your selves open, it is Anger there outside. The three start talking. What do they say? Give the dialogue.
2. WRITE A "SELF-PORTRAIT AS THE MIND OF A ... " POEM / FLASH PIECE. Please read "Self-Portrait as the Mind of a Camera" by Terrance Hayes if you haven't yet (see link below or check your prompt page in this week’s module). Then choose an object through which you are telling your own story. What does the object see about you that you don't? Use as a title "Self-Portrait as the Mind of..." You can use "Camera" to complete the title if that captures your imagination; you can also in another way play with perspective, memory, and different selves you find within you. Poem: https://miuonline.instructure.com/courses/4924/discussion_topics/100987
3. Write a list in the style of Sei Shonagon. Handout link here for more information if you want it. Some topic ideas she used:
Things I wish had never been said.
Things I wish had been said.
Things more embarrassing than nudity.
Red things. Blue things. Yellow things.
Things to put off as long as possible.
Things to do as soon as possible
I remember a clear day.
Regrettable things. Unforgettable things.
Unsettling Things. Distressing Things.
Annoying things. Graceful things. Moving Things.
Things that take your breath away.
Things that give a pathetic impression.
Things not worth doing.
Things worth more than gold.
Rare things. Things that Terrify Me.
Things that cannot be compared.
Things that fall from the sky.
Things that fall slowly.
When I make myself imagine.
Things that are hard to say. Things easy to say.
Patterns. Boring Things.
Things that should be large. Small things.
One day I passed a handsome man.
Holy things. Unholy Things.
Tumultuous things. Serene things.
One day the sky, which until then had been clear…
Songs. Trousers. Deities. Under-robes.
Things to die for.
Acid things and sweet things.
Things that last only a day.