Living On the Edge

with Amra Brooks

Saturday February 8th, 2025 12PM—3PM Pacific over Zoom
(A recording will be made available to all registrants for a limited period afterwards.)

"In short I tried to think. I failed. My attention veered inexorably back to the specific, to the tangible, to what was generally considered, by everyone I knew then and for that matter have known since, the peripheral. I would try to contemplate the Hegelian dialectic and would find myself concentrating instead on a flowering pear tree outside my window and the particular way the petals fell on my floor.”- Joan Didion

The Peripheral: Living on the Edge- We will look at work and do writing experiments that lean into all the things outside the main frame. Focusing on the peripheral has been a coping mechanism, a survival tactic, and a source of inspiration throughout my life. The physical facts that connect us to a time and place, a moment, a sensation, and all the extraordinary in the ordinary. This is both how I write, and also how I knew I was a writer when I was very young. The living edges to our experiences give roots, layers, and texture to our work. The peripheral grounds and tethers us, makes memory, and creates meaning. We will use our attention as a way to connect and learn to be more present through our explorations. We will look at work by Joan Didion, Vigdis Hjorth, Ocean Vuong, Marie Howe, Kiese Laymon, Layli Longsoldier, and others. Open to writers in any genre.

"Back in Hartford, I used to wander the streets at night by myself. Sleepless, I’d get dressed, climb through the window— and just walk.

Some nights I would hear an animal shuffling, unseen, behind garbage bags, or the wind unexpectedly strong overhead, a rush of leaves clicking down, the scrape of branches from a maple out of sight. But mostly, there were only my footsteps on the pavement steaming with fresh rain, the scent of decade- old tar, or the dirt on a baseball field under a few stars, the gentle brush of grass on the soles of my Vans on a highway median.

But one night I heard someone praying." - Ocean Vuong

***

Pricing:

The following payment model is inspired by and borrowed from the payment model of Bayo Akomolafe’s class, We Will Dance With Mountains: Into the Cracks.

This workshop offers a sliding scale based on your relative financial standing. In an effort to reflect disparity in economic condition and access to wealth, the following payment system is designed for those with more wealth to help cover the costs of those with less access to wealth and resources. We trust your discernment of your current financial situation and how you fit into the global economic context.

As you decide what amount to pay, please consider your present-day financial situation governed by income, but also the following factors: historical discrimination faced by your peoples; your financial wealth (retirement/savings/investments); your access to income and financial wealth, both current and anticipated (how easily could you earn more income compared to other people in your community, country, and the world; are you expecting an inheritance); people counting on your financial livelihood including dependents and community members; the socio-economic conditions of your locale (relative to other places in your country and in the world); your relationship to food & resource scarcity.

$250 Partner

$200 Supporter (Note: This amount reflects the “real” value of this course.)

$150 Companion

$100 Friend

Scholarships are also still available for anyone needing further financial assistance. Please email Daniel at registration@corporealwriting.com for more info, or if you are feeling challenged in any way by the financial requirements of participation.

***

Amra Brooks writes creative nonfiction, poetry, as well as essays and reviews about contemporary art. Her memoir Your Beginning and Your End is forthcoming from Dopamine Books in 2026. Her novella California was published by Teenage Teardrops in 2008. Her writing has appeared in Artforum, Inventory, Khôra, Printeresting, Entropy, This Long Century, and many other publications. She grew up in California and has taught creative writing at the University of California in Santa Cruz and San Diego, and Muhlenberg College. She now lives in Providence, Rhode Island and directs the creative writing program at Stonehill College in Easton, MA where she is an Associate Professor. She curates the Raymo Literary Series and co-produces The Electro-Library podcast. https://www.amra-brooks.com/