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The Great Smokies Writing Program: Creativity and Personal Mythology

  • Hanger Hall at UNCA 64 WT Weaver Boulevard Asheville, NC, 28804 United States (map)

Mondays, September 16-November 18
6:00-8:30pm
Classes held at Hanger Hall

Registration is now full! Please consider perusing our other upcoming classes here.

Registration is through the Great Smokies Writers Program, a joint effort between the UNC Asheville departments of English, Creative Writing, and the Asheville Graduate Center.

Click the link below and scroll down to the “10-Week Classes” section to register.

The practice of creativity spans a wide spectrum, ranging from blocks and obstacles that prevent its very existence to its ability to burst open the doors to a freer, more authentic self. The culprit and catalyst responsible for moving the needle simultaneously resides in the stories we tell ourselves, with creative autonomy accessible by bringing a deeper consciousness into our constellation of beliefs and perspectives. In so doing, we are gifted the opportunity to explore purpose, meaning, and the fabric of the human condition, while also reaping the innumerable fringe benefits that result from responding to our creative calling. With the accompaniment of a creative project, this ten-week course will investigate the intersection between our creativity and personal mythology, including strategies to work through common resistances, ways to kickstart and sustain creative momentum, and how to leverage personal narrative for creative bounty.

This course is open to narrative artists hailing from any medium, in any stage of their creative journey.

  • The Great Smokies Writers Program is committed to providing the community with affordable university-level classes led by published writers and experienced teachers. Each course carries academic credit awarded through UNC Asheville. The program offers opportunities for writers of all levels to join a supportive learning community in which their skills and talents can be explored, practiced, and forged under the careful eye of professional writers.

  • Erin Hallagan Clare is the Founder and Artistic Director of Story Parlor, a narrative arts space dedicated to multidisciplinary storytelling based in Asheville, North Carolina. She is a certified creativity coach and holds a Masters in creative psychology, as well as a graduate certificate in Applied Mythology. A writer and storyteller, she has told stories at The Moth, Listen to This, Testify, One Page Salon, NC Writers Network and more, and is a Moth Story Slam Champion. Her writing can be found in Psychology Today, Thrive Global, and others, and she is a contributing author to The Coach’s Guide to Completing Creative Work published by Routledge.