BaFL Collective Writing Session #2

Last year, we invited FMS members to bring a story about a key book, resource, or creative object that informed their feminist research / research-creation work, as well as their feminist praxis, to collaboratively Build a Feminist Library. Through collaborative efforts, we identified essential concepts stemming from these contributions.

We are thrilled to invite you to join us for the second of three sessions as we continue our exploration of core values within the FMS community. In our previous meeting, we laid the groundwork for our collective writing exercise, and now it’s time to delve deeper into the themes and concepts that we’ve identified. These core values will take shape through the writing collectively authored by FMS members and will serve as touchstones for how we engage in feminist work.

We will be engaging in collaborative writing, beginning with Lauren Berlant and Kathleen Stewart’s Hundreds writing exercise. Here are a few excerpts from the writings shared by some of our members during our first meeting:

Acts of Joy  (by Melina Campos)

Having a plentiful breakfast before the sun goes up. Going through two years of printed articles on the lookout for something. Packing my swimming gear for later. Wearing thick wool socks. Walking under a mild snowstorm. Listening to the kids playing in the schoolyard after weeks of silence. Commuting for an hour. Encountering a dear friend halfway through. Eating warm lentil soup out of my thermos. Showing up at a meeting where I don’t know anyone. Nervous sighting. Discussing feminist ways of being and doing. Secretly smiling. Trying to explain in one hundred words how this feels.

Storytelling/ Embodiment

It is hard to hold grief in your body in an empty house. Five of us looked at each other, we told stories – some we knew, some we did not. Laughing together, holding her contradictions up to the light, time started passing again. Language struggles to fill the jagged hole, but we remember her infuriatingly stubborn chin, her big heart embracing others’ pain, the poetry she left each one of us, and the way we managed to defend joy for each other changed. Trying to account for the illegibility of loss, stumbling into new ways to show care.

We encourage you to choose a term (or a few!) to write on ahead of this meeting.

We welcome new and returning participants for this event. Previous attendance is not necessary!

Attendees are also welcome to bring books to propose for the library.

View the library Zotero here.

This hybrid event will be held in person and via Zoom: RSVP

Light vegan/vegetarian snacks and refreshments will be provided.