More Than One Story: a collaborative performance by military women

In this two day workshop, women veterans from across the country will join author Seema Reza for an introduction (or refresher!) to the principles of creative writing, and poetry specifically, and will write individual accounts of what it means to be a woman, what it means to serve, and who they are in and out of the uniform. On day two the group will be guided to co-create a collaborative poem. See an example poem, created by a group of veterans here.

Workshop Dates (virtual, via Zoom):

Monday 3 May 7-8:30 pm ET (via zoom)

Wednesday 5 May 7-8:30 pm ET (via zoom)

The workshops will be recorded. Participants MUST be available to attend both workshops in their entirety. Participants are asked to take their rightful and visible place in history by becoming a member of the Military Women’s Memorial Register using this link.

“It’s amazing how an hour can revolutionize ones life if we have the space and permission to allow it. CBAW makes the space and today, I gave myself permission. Thank you.”

REGISTRATION COMING SOON

—Virtual Workshop Participant

The Military Women’s Memorial honors and tells the stories of women, past and present, who serve our nation. We are the leading memorial and education center honoring women’s contributions to the service of the United States of America. As the only historical repository documenting all military women’s service, we educate and inspire through innovative and interactive exhibitions, our world-class collections, and engaging programs and events for all generations. We honor the commitment, contributions and experiences of every woman who serves in, or with, the Armed Forces.

Community Building Art Works is a non-profit organization that helps the ordinary people we ask to be heroes tell their stories through workshops led by professional artists. Our programs reach thousands of people annually, and were featured in the 2018 award-winning HBO Documentary “We Are Not Done Yet.” CBAW’s prestigious faculty include award-winning writers, artists, and musicians who have lectured and taught at institutions from Columbia University to Stanford.

Seema Reza is the author of the poetry collection A Constellation of Half-Lives and the memoir When the World Breaks Open. Seema has led writing workshops within correctional facilities, military and civilian hospitals, elementary and secondary schools, and universities. She is the CEO of Community Building Art Works, a unique arts organization that encourages the use of the arts as a tool for narration, self-care and socialization among a military population struggling with emotional and physical injuries. Reza was awarded the Col John Gioia Patriot Award by the USO of Metropolitan Washington-Baltimore for her work with service members. An alumnus of Goddard College and VONA, she has had writing online and in print in McSweeney’s, The Washington Post, The LA Review, The Feminist Wire, The Offing, and Entropy among others. Case studies from her work with military populations have appeared in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Related Diseases in Combat Veterans. She has performed across the country at universities, theaters, festivals, bookstores, conferences, & one fine mattress shop.