Ecstatic Aesthetics w/ Amanda Montei — begins October 20th

Ecstatic Aesthetics

Begins October 20th, 2022

Four weekly 2-hour sessions over Zoom on Thursdays from 4-6PM PST (10/ 20, 10/27, 11/3, 11/10)

Joy and pleasure are what we strive for as humans, and in an era that often feels grim, artistic representations of awakening and enjoyment are increasingly compelling to readers and writers. In this class, we will ask ourselves what the purpose of representing ecstatic experiences might be, as we examine our assumptions about the symbolism and syntax we use to communicate pleasure on the page. What does it mean to experience overwhelming delight, as both writer and reader? Can we give voice to exhilaration while avoiding nostalgia and denial?

Together we will read theories and representations of heightened spiritual, sexual, and communal pleasure and joy. We will draw inspiration from texts on hedonism, mystic awakening, pleasure as activism, collective joy, and fleeting, mundane forms of happiness. In each Zoom session, we will respond to a series of writing prompts meant to activate new aesthetic approaches. This workshop will emphasize experimentation and craft discussion, rather than revision and refinement. We will work on articulating our own experiences of ecstasy and magic, in any genre, as well as activating readers’ sensory connections to our textual images and characters.

This will be a space to play and commune, shiver and cry.

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Pricing:

The following payment model is inspired by and borrowed from the payment model of Bayo Akomolafe’s class, We Will Dance With Mountains: Into the Cracks.

This workshop offers a sliding scale based on your relative financial standing. In an effort to reflect disparity in economic condition and access to wealth, the following payment system is designed for those with more wealth to help cover the costs of those with less access to wealth and resources. We trust your discernment of your current financial situation and how you fit into the global economic context.

As you decide what amount to pay, please consider your present-day financial situation governed by income, but also the following factors: historical discrimination faced by your peoples; your financial wealth (retirement/savings/investments); your access to income and financial wealth, both current and anticipated (how easily could you earn more income compared to other people in your community, country, and the world; are you expecting an inheritance); people counting on your financial livelihood including dependents and community members; the socio-economic conditions of your locale (relative to other places in your country and in the world); your relationship to food & resource scarcity.

$400 Partner

$350 Supporter (Note: This amount reflects the “real” value of this course.)

$275 Companion

$200 Friend

Scholarships are also still available for anyone needing further financial assistance. Please email Daniel at registration@corporealwriting.com for more info, or if you are feeling challenged in any way by the financial requirements of participation.

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Amanda Montei is the author of the memoir Two Memoirs, published by Jaded Ibis Press, and the chapbook The Failure Age, published by Bloof Books. She is also co-author of Dinner Poems. She has an MFA from California Institute of the Arts and a PhD from the poetics program at SUNY Buffalo. Her writing and research focus on representations of gendered violence, feminism, and women’s work in writing and art.

Amanda’s essays and criticism have appeared/are forthcoming at Mother Tongue, Slate, Electric Literature, Vox, the Rumpus, Salon, Believer, Ms. Magazine, Gaga Stigmata, Entropy, Luna Luna Magazine, Poetry Foundation, and others. Her poetry and fiction have appeared in numerous literary journals including Air/Light, Joyland, The Atlas Review, Dusie, Explosion Proof Magazine, PANK, and Delirious Hem.