In many mainstream literature, art and film, we encounter LGBTQIA+characters as one-dimensional caricatures and not complex beings. Part of the problem could be that many of these narratives are created by folks who do not identify as being a part of the LGBTQIA+ community, but more importantly, there is a dire need for a diverse range of stories from within the queer community in Nepal. What feels crucial at this time is to seek, listen to, read and nurture queer writers.

This day-long workshop, A Room Of One’s Own, is a creative writing primer designed for queer writers who want to write but perhaps don’t know where to begin, or who are looking for a supportive community to write with. This workshop is inspired by and an extension of the writing residency of the same name held in December of 2022. Then, six writers were selected from a large pool of applicants to write together for 10-days and create a DIY zine of twenty-two original works of poetry and prose.

During the session, we will use original pieces from the zine as inspiration and prompt; and writers will be led through a series of generative writing exercises through which they will begin to draft an original piece of poem and/or prose. They will then share the story for further feedback and re-write/revise the piece into a clearer shape by the end of the session. Together, we will explore ideas of home, belonging, dreams and memory. In the session, writers will acquire essential writing tools for storytelling and will further hone their own creative processes to continue to write beyond the workshop.

The session will be four hours long and open to writers of all levels from beginner to advanced. In the workshop, participants are welcome to write poetry and/or prose. The class will be bi-lingual (Nepali and English). The session will be broken into the following parts:

Part 1 (9 AM - 11 PM): Introduction + Mapping Our Memories + Engaging Five Senses

Lunch break

Part 2 (12 PM - 2 PM): The Specificity of an Object + Feedback & Revision

Facilitators: 

Muna Gurung is a writer, translator and educator based in Kathmandu. She received her MFA in fiction from Columbia University, where she was a teaching fellow. Her fiction, non-fiction and translated works have appeared in various online and print publications. Muna is the director of the Writing Center at the Open Institute for Social Science and teaches writing. She is also the founder of KathaSatha, an initiative that fosters a writing and storytelling culture by creating and supporting writers and writing from Nepal. Beyond this, she runs an intergenerational pickles and preserves company with her mother called ĀMĀKO. 

Dia Yonzon (she/her) is a writer and researcher based in Kathmandu. She is a Writing Center fellow at The Open Institute for Social Science from where she received her higher diploma in Writing and Research. While not writing, she runs her initiative The Melung Stories, a digital archive for queer storytelling.

This workshop is a part of United Nation's Free & Equal Campaign

Posted on 15 April 2024