We all have a story to tell.  Often we think of a life story or memoir as a chronology of events.  However, knowing where to begin can become so overwhelming that we put off writing the story at all.  This is an invitation to re-collect, record and share the stories from your life through the lens of reading.  What picture books, novels, collections of poetry, songs, magazines, journals, fiction, non-fiction, science-fiction, historical-fiction played an important role in your life? Who read to you? Where did you and do you like to read and why? What memories do you have of your mother and father reading? How might writing about what we read give us a glimpse into who we were and who we have become? Please bring your own writing instruments to a safe environment where you will experiment with writing strategies using prompts, share your writing with others, and begin your collection of life-stories.

“A library is a good place to go when you feel unhappy, for there, in a book, you may find encouragement and comfort. A library is a good place to go when you feel bewildered or undecided, for there, in a book, you may have your question answered. Books are good company, in sad times and happy times, for books are people – people who have managed to stay alive by hiding between the covers of a book.” E.B White

Dates: Wednesdays, May 8 –  June 12, 2024.

Time: 1:00pm-3:30pm

Location: In-Person, Carleton University Campus – Nicol Building

Information regarding the room number, parking details and how to access content, will be provided to registered participants 1-2 business days before the first day of the series.

About the Lecturer:  Dr. Anna Rumin is a native Montrealer whose identity has been shaped by the political landscape of her home province, her Russian roots, a passion for lifelong learning that has been woven both formally in academia and informally through travel, voracious reading and writing, and a love for the stories hidden in our natural world.

Her interest in narrative inquiry stems from her belief that not only do we all have a story to tell but that our stories help us to better understand who we were, who we are and who we are becoming. She has now designed fifteen memoir-based writing workshops that invite participants to think of themselves as the narrators of their lives, as seen and written through a particular lens.

Anna is committed to supporting those with whom she works by providing them with opportunities to set and meet their goals. In her spare time, Anna writes short fiction and has been the recipient of numerous awards.

Picture of LLeaP lecturer Dr. Anna Rumin

Policies: Please review the Lifelong Learning Policies