Local writers, working in a variety of genres and forms, meet with participants for two, 90-minute sessions during consecutive weeks. Each writer, inspired by a work(s) of art in the Museum’s collection, chooses the theme, format, and form for the workshop; allowing both the writers and participants maximum choice. Participants have an opportunity to also share their writing. Sign up for both sessions with one writer or sample across disciplines.

Theme
How to be personal without getting personal

Often we get conflicting bits of advice on writing. Write what you know. Look outside of yourself. Show not tell. Why show what's obvious. This workshop considers the idea of the personal and the autobiographical within fiction writing. How can we be personal without getting too personal? How can we use ourselves and our stories without getting too overwhelmed by them?     

Inspirations images
SBMA’s Rico Leburn, Self Portrait (1940), and The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Self-Portrait as a Photographer (1924).

Meet your Instructor
Sameer Pandya is the author of the story collection The Blind Writer, which was longlisted for the PEN/Open Book Award, and the novel Members Only. He is also the recipient of the PEN/Civitella Fellowship. His fiction, commentary, and cultural criticism has appeared in a range of publications, including The Atlantic, Salon, Sports Illustrated, ESPN, and Narrative Magazine. He is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Asian American Studies at UC Santa Barbara.