Bring your electrifying ideas and shocking discoveries to this creative writing session for all levels. Facilitated by programme maker, Creative Writing PhD, and sci-fi fan Marieke Sjerps, we will take power reversals as our starting point. Surprise yourself by trying your hand at some fun exercises. Bring pen and paper!
When you enter the TUD Library, you’ll find The Nook in the right-hand corner of the open space.
Why Writing for Power?
To write fiction is to create new worlds. Authors are masters of their own universes. And yet, so often, real power structures are faithfully recreated in works of fiction. Think of the superhero saving his love interest, or the brilliant businessman rising through the ranks. Picture the thirty-something lady who finally finds the love that’s meant for her.
How much pleasure do we derive from reading or writing these works, from imagining ourselves in the place of these characters? Maybe the realism makes the fantasy more delicious. But how enjoyable might it be to push our imaginations farther? What if we could dream of more than just winning by playing by the rules of our real existence?
In Naomi Alderman’s 2016 novel The Power, women develop an ability that enables them to establish dominance over men. By administering surges of electricity, they turn society on its head. Using ideas and passages from this exhilarating novel, we will push ourselves to think and write big. In an informal workshop setting, we will write scenes where power is reversed and unlocked. And in doing so, we will look for ways to empower ourselves, to become masters of our own universes.
Check out SG’s related events this quarter on the theme: The Female Perspective
This fall at SG, we’re going to find out what the world would look like if women had the power. We’re going to erase the dominant patriarchal perspective and substitute it with an alternate reality. What would it look like if the tables were turned: would women set the standards, could men be vulnerable? Would we let go of the old ways and celebrate gender fluidity?
This theme is part of the series For Love of the World, in which we explore alternative stories and forgotten knowledge that can (re)connect us to our world. We are looking for stories to colour in this new world. Your writings might become part of this project! Find out how at the workshop.
12 Sept VOX Movie Night: Libertarias (1996) Orange Room
18 Sept – 10 Nov Art Exhibition The Nook/Theater de Veste
19 Sept Existential Tuesday: What if women had the power? The Nook
21 Sept The Book Club: The Power, book distribution The Nook
10 Oct Existential Tuesday: What is a “real” man? The Nook
11 Oct Writing for Power: A creative writing workshop The Nook
16 Oct SG Café: Het vrouwelijk perspectief (in Dutch) Theater de Veste
19 Oct The Book Club: The Power, book discussion The Nook
