Description:

Are you angry? Good.

In this co-taught workshop, Redbud founders Emily and Arshia will delve into how writers can explore and interrogate the topic of female rage in their memoirs and fiction. Together, we’ll examine how anger—so often dismissed, minimized, or pathologized—can become a powerful creative force on the page.

We’ll read excerpts from writers such as Melissa Febos, Claire Messud, Claire Vaye Watkins, Nada Alic, Ottessa Moshfegh, to answer questions such as: How do we render anger with precision? How do we resist cliché and sentimentality? And how can rage open up deeper truths about power, gender, desire, and identity?

Through guided prompts and in-class exercises, we’ll practice translating emotional intensity into vivid, compelling prose. We’ll also discuss craft techniques for shaping raw feeling into narrative—focusing on voice, structure, and emotional clarity.

This is a generative, discussion-based workshop with plenty of time for writing, sharing, and reflection. Writers of all levels are welcome. Come ready to be bold, to take risks, and to put something real—and maybe a little dangerous—on the page.

(Note: we’ll provide seltzers and snacks but please bring a brown bag lunch for the lunch hour break between 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.)

Instructors: Arshia Simkin and Emily Cataneo

Dates: Saturday, May 16, 2026

Time: 11 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Level: Beginner and above

20 seats max

Location: Redbud Writing Project, 719 N. Person St., Raleigh

$215: true price

$100: subsidized price

$0: scholarship price

A note on pricing: Thanks to a generous donor, we have ten free scholarships available for this retreat. The scholarships are to allow writers who could not otherwise afford to attend an opportunity to participate. We ask that you select the price that best reflects your financial ability.

The “subsidized price” is the price at which Redbud offers this class in an effort to keep prices affordable and accessible to the general public.

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. 

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