This four-week, in-person generative writing course is designed to offer writers interpretive scaffolding rooted in Black feminist thought, spirituality, and sensory practice. The course treats listening—not productivity—as the foundation of creative work, and invites participants to move between embodied knowledge, intellectual lineage, and communal meaning-making.

Each week introduces a different framework writers can return to beyond the class:
Week 1: Listening as method, using guided vinyl listening and sensory-to-language exercises
Week 2: Tarot as an interpretive framework for narrative, symbolism, and pattern recognition
Week 3: Black feminist theory (Audre Lorde, Toni Morrison, and others) as permission rather than constraint
Week 4: Integration and sustained practice, bringing sound, spirit, and theory together

The course is primarily generative, with guided reflection and optional sharing rather than formal peer workshop.

Instructor: Amanda Bennett

Dates: Begins Wednesday, March 25, 2026 and runs every Wednesday for four weeks

Time: 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Level: Beginner and above

Location: Golden Fig Books, Carrboro

8 seat maximum

Cost:

$430: true price

$260: subsidized price

$285, $310, $360: donate an extra $25, $50, or $100 to our scholarship fund

(Returning students receive 10 percent off).

A note on pricing:  the “true price” reflects the true cost of the class, which includes paying a fair wage to our staff and instructors, rental fees for the Redbud headquarters and for the community spaces where we host our classes, website and administrative/commerce fees, outreach and advertising to spread the word about our offerings, and the coordination and administration for our community classes, which serve people who could not otherwise access creative writing. We’re not a university or a large corporation and that means we don’t have an operating budget we can rely on; we’re proud to be a small, local, women- and minority-run business that is passionate about bringing the transformative power of the arts to our community. Your tuition helps Redbud with the critical work of keeping the arts accessible to the public. 

We also offer students a chance to donate to our scholarship fund. At check-out, you will be given the option of choosing a donor price. If you choose one of these prices, the extra $25, $50, or $100 will go towards scholarships for students who would not be able to afford our classes otherwise.  Thank you in advance for considering making a contribution to inclusivity and access!

Read the fine print, including our refund policy, here.