Vincent Van Dyke

Writing Our Way Free: Uprooting Invasive Beliefs through Memoir

Growing up, we learn all kinds of rules about how to behave, but not all those rules are good for us. In this memoir-focused writing workshop, we’ll explore inherited beliefs and expectations that have taken root in our lives and how writing can help us examine, challenge, and uproot them.

Drawing inspiration from Virginia Woolf, Edna St. Vincent Millay, and Melissa Febos, we’ll use memoir craft techniques as tools for writing about personal transformation and breaking inherited norms. 

The workshop will include a reading (about 20 minutes) from Maiden, Mother, Unicorn, a memoir about learning and breaking rules about gender, sex, marriage, and motherhood. Then we’ll have time for generative writing and discussion in response to prompts. 

Vincent Van Dyke lives in Northern New England with her partner, kids, and standoffish pet hedgehog. Her first book, Maiden, Mother, Unicorn, explores motherhood, queer identity, and the transition to nonmonogamy after a decade of “traditional” marriage.  

Cost: Free to attend; pre-reservations are recommended. Museum admission is not included. Register here: https://www.farnsworthmuseum.org/event/memoir-writing-with-vincent-van-dyke/