Snapshots: Using Family (and other) Photos to Explore Memoir

Photographs are rich resources when it comes to investigating memoir material. There is the moment captured — the visual details stored forever — or at least for the lifespan of that particular piece of chemically treated paper.

But the details in that image are just the beginning and can be used to light up our synapses and lead to other memories, both conscious and unconscious.

In this workshop, we will use existing photos as well as photos we no longer possess (and perhaps even photographs that never existed!) to explore our autobiographical material. Each week participants will try new memoir-based exercises organized around photographs to resurface and investigate the meaningful material from our lives and the lives of our families.

Each week there will also be an opportunity to share and receive immediate strengths-based feedback on what has just been written.

This course (unlike Sue’s year-long A Novel Approach to Memoir) is not designed to produce a full length work of creative non-fiction. However, if you are looking at doing a full length story, exercises from this workshop will be very useful in discovering material towards a longer work.

By the very nature of “Snapshots” we will also look at how photographs can be used to produce flash prose as well.

Dates: January 6, 13, 20, 27, February 3 & 10.

Time: Mondays from 1:00 to 3:00 pm EST / 10:00 to noon PST

Registration fee: $195 CDN plus 13% HST (total: $220.35)