Ancestral creative writing workshop

Ancestral writing is a way of approaching those that came before, and the events that led to the miracle of you. It is an understanding of yourself as a living ambassador of history. It is a way to set down the weight of the past from our collective shoulders, and come together to get to know who we are in the context of our families and cultures. It is a chance to heal generational trauma, and develop an incredibly powerful writing practice. In these workshops, we will explore how to tell the story of our ancestors creatively in a way that honours them and amplifies the voice they may not have had. In turn, this will empower us to tell our own stories with our history in mind.

You don't need to be an experienced writer to come along!

The workshops will include embodied writing practice, a powerful method of writing that involves meditative practice followed by free writing. As suggested, embodied writing includes the experience of the body as well as the mental faculty, and encourages the writer to let go of actively controlling every detail of their writing. It is a brilliant way to remove the mental filter we put on our writing, and get to the raw materials underneath.

We will also work with prompts from 'personal archives', such as old photos, diaries, heirlooms or even just a song or a story passed down. If you have very little knowledge or records of your family history, this workshop will still be of great value to you. We will explore how to approach the absence of records, archives, or detailed knowledge about the past, and the reasons for these absences.

Whether you know where you've come from or not, you are welcome 💙

Lastly, this workshop is designed to be a pleasant, warm, friendly and restful place where we can share our stories, get to know one another and even share food and other elements of our family traditions and cultural customs. While we will take inspiration from certain academic ideas, it won't be snooty or highbrow, it will be relaxed and, hopefully, interesting and fun for all 🌸😊

This event is part of the Green Nut Community Wellbeing Programme—bringing people together to learn new skills and enjoy healthy plant-based treats.

Also check out other Workshops in Sutton, Arts events in Sutton, Literary Art events in Sutton.