11/20 I'm Just a Girl: Writing Girlhood
11/20 I'm Just a Girl: Writing Girlhood
For many girls, the end of childhood marks the moment we begin to minimize our wants and curtail our feelings. It is when we begin to alienate our bodies, even our minds. This generative workshop for writers of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, will offer a space to define girlhood for yourself and shed a light on your own experience as female or female identifying. We’ll work to peel back the layers on what it meant to be female in the past, while also reflecting on this current moment in time. Exceptional works of literature around girlhood will guide our conversation including excerpts by Melissa Febos, Maya Angelou, Jo Ann Beard, Nicole Graev Lipson and Michelle Herman.
What these writers share is a commitment to discovering on the page what they think and feel and believe. Such examples will inspire our writing as we work to bring our own experience of girlhood and womanhood to the forefront.
By the end of this workshop, writers will…
Apply a deeper understanding of reflection can access personal stories
Understand how blend past with present perspectives
Examine how research and other voices can deepen the female experience
Develop the start of several pieces that illuminate your distinct gendered experience
Highlight relevant social and cultural issues
Who is the Instructor? Melissa Fraterrigo’s forthcoming memoir-in-essays is The Perils of Girlhood (University of Nebraska Press, September 1, 2025). She is also the author of the novel, Glory Days (University of Nebraska Press), which was named one of "The Best Fiction of 2017" by Chicago Review of Books. Melissa is also the author of the short story collection, The Longest Pregnancy (Livingston Press). Her fiction and nonfiction have appeared in a variety of journals including Puerto del Sol, Massachusetts Review, Fifth Wednesday Journal, Sou’wester and Shenandoah. She has twice been nominated for Pushcart Prizes.In addition to her publications, she has taught creative writing at Bowling Green State University, Southern Utah University, Penn State-Altoona, the Indiana Writers’ Center and IUPUI. Melissa currently teaching creative writing at Purdue University and is the founder of Lafayette Writers’ Studio.
To learn more or read her work visit melissafraterrigo.com.
When is this class offered?
This class is offered Thursday, November 20 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. EST. This workshop is open to writers of all levels.
Interested in the class but the date does not work for you? Don’t despair. All registrants will receive a recording of the class within three business days of the course.