As writers, we are often captive at our desk tracing our experiences. When we leave our desk, we break from the documentation and move into experience. This class seeks to integrate those two seemingly divergent energies. Anthropologist, Tim Ingold argues in his book, Being Alive, that “the mental and the material, or the terrains of the imagination and the physical environment, run into one another to the extent of being barely distinguishable …Far from being rigidly partitioned, there is constant traffic between these terrains, respectively mental and material, through the gateways of the senses.”
In this class, we will use movement to both create and access sensory oriented writing. We will move, write and share, move, write, and share.
In the first 4 weeks, Movement Therapist, Abijan Johnson and writer, Nicole Zaza will begin the class with movement. No special equipment, ability, or space is needed.
Even the smallest movement can redirect our spatial and creative awareness. Movement will be used as an impetus for reflection writing with an opportunity to share. The following two weeks Nicole Zaza will work collaboratively with the group on expansion. The final two weeks will be focused on revision.
No formal feedback will be required from participants. The focus will be on being present and responding in the moment.
Abijan Johnson is a dancer with an M.A. in Dance/Movement Therapy and Counseling from Columbia College (Chicago, IL). She received dance training in New York (Ailey School) and in Houston (Discovery and City Dance). She has been a frequent collaborator with visual artists, musicians, and dancers in Houston.
Nicole Zaza has been teaching writing classes in Houston for 17 years. She has published in various journals and magazines and worked as an editor for Gulf Coast and Envy Magazine. She graduated with an MFA in literature and nonfiction from the University of Houston Creative Writing Program.