RADICAL REVERSAL
~ A Multi-Disciplinary Workshop ~
Suffolk County House of Correction ~ 20 Bradston St., Boston, MA
We’re collaborating with acclaimed poet and musician, Randall Horton, to bring music, poetry, and performance to correctional facilities, demonstrating how art can play a pivotal role in social justice and provide pathways for artists to give back. Writers Without Margins has been selected to participate in this Creative Capital national program, which is also currently being offered in Alabama and Minnesota.
WRITE HERE, WRITE NOW
at the
Safe & Sound Recovery Center
Safe and Sound Recovery Center ~ 774 Albany St., Boston, MA
This peer-led writing group is held within the Mass and Cass vicinity of treatment centers and public health services targeting unsheltered individuals. Our expressive writing model is tailored to nurture compassionate reflection and offer inroads to re-discover direction and hope through adversity and writing.
WRITING IN RESPITE
at the
Barbara McInnis House
Barbara McInnis House ~ 780 Albany St., Boston, MA
This workshop is provided to individuals qualifying for medical care by Boston Healthcare for the Homeless and is offered to participants during their extended stays at the Barbara McInnis House respite care center. Literary examples, writing exercises, and collaborative discussion allow for thoughtful contemplation and creativity to engender self-growth and empowerment during a critical time of refuge and healing.
THE
STEP BY STEP WRITERS’ WORKSHOP
at
Step by Step Supportive Services
Step by Step Supportive Services ~ 1330 Beacon St., Brookline, MA
The Step by Step Writers’ Workshop aims to engage adults with psychiatric, cognitive, and social disabilities through the healing power of expressive writing. Through art, guided exercises, guest speakers, and collaborative discussion, we explore the ways in which language, poetry, literature, storytelling, and other expressive modalities can promote healing, recovery, and authority.
INSIDE EXPRESSION
at the
Suffolk County House of Correction
In 2020, we piloted our first workshop for sentenced individuals at the Suffolk County House of Corrections at 20 Bradston Street, Boston. This workshop series is intended to be the first of several “behind the wall.”
This program is modeled after the workshop showcased in the documentary, In Their Shoes: Unheard Stories of Reentry & Recovery. This group, which takes place twice a week, uses the techniques of literary discussion, guided prompts, and expressive writing. Utilizing the philosophy of “credible messengers,” which espouses the belief that communities have within them transformative resources to lift up justice-involved people in a comprehensive and positive way, this workshop will be co-facilitated by at least one returning citizen who exemplifies the possibility of sustainable change from within.
THE
INTENSIVE CAREGIVERS WORKSHOP
~ available to partner organizations ~
For more information or to see if you or your organization is eligible to host a workshop (either in-person or online), please send us a message via our contact us page, and someone from our team will respond at their earliest convenience.
This workshop is designed for those who self-identify as “caregivers,” whether by traditional or less conventional definitions, or both. Almost universally, we experienced how the Covid-19 pandemic increased pressure for people to take care of one another, from homeschooling to grief counseling, in unprecedented ways, while “essential workers” bore the burden of the economy and health care system, often with little, affordable, mental health support. These workshops encourage expressive writing as an artistic and therapeutic outlet for an individual’s own self-care, clarity, and connection. Our first workshop was held with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Sexual Assault Response Unit’s Disabled Person’s Protection Commission.
THE BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY
“Repairing America” SERIES
~ open to the public ~
Check the Boston Public Library calendar or Writers Without Margins, Inc on Facebook for listings.
Boston Public Library ~ Branch locations throughout Greater Boston
We’ve teamed up with the Boston Public Library and its local branches to provide a variety of FREE, expressive writing groups matching the interests and energies of library patrons and the specializations and backgrounds of our facilitators who come from the surrounding neighborhoods and the communities we share. Since 2020, we’ve offered workshops facilitated by freestyle artists, therapists, and professors on everything from managing our emotions in times of isolation and upheaval, to embodying and articulating the elements of literary performance art. These workshop series run periodically throughout the year and are available at various library branches throughout the Greater Boston area.
SCREENINGS & PANEL DISCUSSIONS
for the award-winning documentary
In Their Shoes: Unheard Stories of Reentry & Recovery
~ available for public and private events ~
To view the trailer for In Their Shoes: Unheard Stories of Reentry & Recovery, which follows four writers from one of our expressive writing workshops, please click here, or send us an email via our Contact Us page if you or your organization are interested in discussing options for a collaborative event surrounding the film.
We’re currently offering both live and virtual screenings of the documentary film, In Their Shoes, co-produced by Wahl Street Productions and Writers Without Margins, and we’re available to hold panel discussions and workshops with your organization, community group, university, high school, or group setting of your choice, which will be tailored to the specific interests and needs of your audience. This film covers a broad scope of universal topics including mental health, addiction recovery, criminal justice reform, and expressive writing, while incorporating the opinions of experts, but most importantly the stories are told by the individuals most impacted by these challenges.
THE TAKING AUTHORSHIP
PROGRAM
~ available to partner organizations ~
For more information or to see if you or your organization is eligible to host a workshop (either in-person or online), please send us a message via our contact us page, and someone from our team will respond at their earliest convenience.
Our lives are full of stories, and we are the authors of the chapters yet to be written. So, how can we use the lessons within literature and the craft of creative writing to increase empowerment and empathy while building the skills within us? This flexible program is offered to organizations, allies, groups, and clubs seeking to expand and hone the crafts of language for personal insight and public advocacy through themed workshops or intensive seminars. Our first collaboration took place at Brockton’s Family Center with Providence’s College Unbound. Contact us to learn more about becoming a partner organization for a one-time workshop or an ongoing program.
