When:

Workshops will meet January 12, 19, 26 and February 2; Reading TBA

1-3PM

Where:

21c Museum Hotel

700 W. Main Street

Cost:

$100/NM $80/LLA Members

Workshop Description:

Sex writing is categorized under a lot of different names -- erotica, romance, porn -- but rarely is it given prominent real estate in literary fiction - or even taken seriously. There are many reasons for that. At the top of the list is the "Bad Sex in Literary Fiction" award, which annually highlights sex writing that uses awkward language and the objectification of women's bodies as a vehicle to describe sexual engagement. But another prominent reason sex writing is often devalued is because so many women are writing it. As writer Kristen Roupenian, author of "Cat Person," notes in a recent piece in The Guardian, the inclusion of any description of sex in a piece of writing by a woman often becomes the focal point of the piece, even if that really isn't its focus, and allows critics to pigeonhole her as a "sex writer" alone.

Over the course of 4 consecutive Sundays, we're going to examine fiction and nonfiction about sex and desire, particularly works by women, that center sex and have merit because of the inclusion of sexual content, not in spite of it. Together, we'll look at work by Roxane Gay, bell hooks, Natalie Lima, Crystal Wilkinson, Allison Wallis, Randa Jarrar, Jennifer Wortman, and more; we'll discuss what makes the work of these writers effective, what tools the writing uses to achieve its goals, what it ultimately accomplishes, and what we can borrow from it to improve our own approaches to writing sex. Participants will leave this workshop with a reading list of sex writing, a draft of a new piece of sex writing, feedback on that work (or, if preferred, on a piece of previously-drafted work), and suggestions of journals where they might submit their work.

Participants will work with the instructor, Megan Pillow, to plan a public reading of completed work at 21c Louisville.