Throughout our history of marginalization and oppression, queer voices have created our own ways of speaking and expressing ourselves. But with us so Othered in queer tongues, how do we tell our stories to the mainstream authentically? In this queer-focused course, we’ll look at several literary tactics for expressing ourselves—such as Fracturing, Modulating, Fabulism, and Spiraling—as well as finding our voices as queer people and tackling such conundrums as slang and cultural references. We’ll look at examples of such writers as Carmen Maria Machado, Jordy Rosenberg, Akwaeke Emezi, and more to help us assert our stories in ways that demand us to be heard without compromising our queerness. This course includes weekly opportunities to have short stories of given experimental narratives verbally workshopped.

*Cisgender/heterosexual people are welcome to attend this course if they’re eager to learn about storytelling methods beyond the traditional narrative arc.