Bilingual Phoenix: Chronicles of a Desert City with Luis Avila
Date(s): Tuesdays, April 10 - 24 and May 8, 2018, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Location: Piper Writers House, 450 E Tyler Mall, Tempe, AZ 85281 (view map)
Type(s): Generative Workshop, Workshop
Genre and Form(s):
About the Class
Some people think of the desert as a void, a place that’s lacking. On the contrary, the Sonoran Desert is a place of abundance, a landscape that’s facilitated transit, displacement, belonging, and diversity for far longer than Phoenix became the largest city inhabiting it. The 6th largest metropolis in the United States continues to change, to adapt to its new residents and realities. Almost 40% of Phoenix’s population is Latino, many of us immigrants from Northern Mexico, carrying stories, traditions, opinions, many finding ways to make our journeys transcend. That’s the goal of this course, an effort to chronicle the stories of people who live here, but without the limitations of one language, and allowing those who write in English, Spanish, code-switch or express themselves in Spanglish, to do so.
In the beginning of this course, we will learn what literary and journalistic chronicles are, how they are composed, some of their important exponents, and texts by cronistas of our generation. We will then take the learning to the city, we will observe, write, present, and give each other feedback, attempting to write, polish and finalize texts collectively. Luis Avila will facilitate the conversations, and provide individual feedback to participants.
*In collaboration with the instructor, Luis Avila, the Piper Writers Studio is piloting a "pay what you can" model for this course to meet community members where they are at in their educational journey. Options ranging from $0 to $225 will be provided upon registration.
