Cow Tipping Press Writing Workshops, Day 1

Thanks to the Dakota/Ramsey County ASD Innovations Grant, SPPL has funds for a Cow Tipping Press 5 week writing workshop for adults with developmental disabilities to help enable them to have their own voice and do their own writing. CTP has instructions for Transcribers who help people who can't write on their own or benefit from assistance in writing to make sure that the participants' authentic voice is being heard.  We reached out to TAP to share with their members as well as with others and we have a great group of writers.

 Day 1 we focused on Creative Non-Fiction writing. Amy is our teacher and she started off the group with an Ice Breaker-tell us your name, why you wanted to be in the writing workshop, and your spirit animal. Next the group read a passage from the Diary of Anne Frank and talked about how it made them feel. We have a great group of self advocates and they all felt sad that Anne didn't have friends of her own age and that she, and other people who were Jewish, were restricted in what they could do and when they could do it. The writing prompt was "Write as if you were writing in a journal or about a time when you felt your freedom was being restricted." We listened to some very chill classical music and the group had 10 minutes to write. Hearing the group read was wonderful-some great descriptions of why they like to write, what they hope to gain from the class, as well as some inspiring stories of going through times when people felt they were on their own, facing challenges,  and how they worked through it and turned or are turning things around.

The next passage was from the House on Mango Street and Amy talked to the group about imagery-painting a picture with words. The group wrote about places/spaces they had been and how these places/spaces made them feel.

The final passage was Joyas Voladoras by Brian Doyle which considers the capacity of the heart in animals and humans. Our writers were tasked with writing for 5 minutes about their spirit or favorite animal or anything related to the heart. Some wonderful writings emerged about the heart and feelings as well as participants'connections to animals.

I am excited to see what people share with us next week when we focus on Fiction. I've been invited to share a passage with the group so I'm eager to give this a try. Stay tuned!