Writing periods, pain and the body: a feminist creative writing workshop 

This workshop is dedicated to reading and writing menstruation, pain and the body. We will closely read and discuss a variety of texts, including articles, poetry, fiction and literary essays, to highlight how different genres and approaches can be taken when writing about the body. As a group, we will examine and discuss how these texts challenge stigma and shame associated with these subjects and discuss the difficulty of articulating pain. 

Together we will write or develop our own work, and then workshop this as a group. Ache will then lead a short discussion, inviting participants to share their own experiences of chronic illness and pain in an empathetic and creative space, and together we will talk through the obstacles of studying and working as a creative person with an illness. Our discussion will explore the creative possibilities writing about menstruation, illness, pain and the body can offer us. 

Some texts we will be discussing include:

Sally Rooney, Conversations with Friends

Karen Havelin, Please Read This Leaflet Carefully

Cori Smith ‘What It’s Like To Have Endometriosis As A Transgender Man’

Abby Norman, Ask Me About My Uterus

Carmen Maria Machado, Her Body and Other Parties 

All reading materials will be provided. Participants will also receive a copy of Ache and a detailed further reading list highlighting writers publishing work on the themes discussed. The workshop will be lead by Kirstie Millar and Jane Hartshorn, editors of Ache: an intersectional feminist magazine exploring illness, health, bodies and pain. 

There are limited spaces available, so please email liberation@goldsmithssu.org to reserve a space. We kindly ask that if you can no longer make it, that you get in touch so we can give your space to someone else. 

All of our events are wheelchair accessible and all of our venues have gender neutral toilets. If you've got any questions or additional accessibility requirements, please get in touch by emailing accessibility@goldsmithssu.org.