Writing the Stories of My Life: Remembering My Mother

Day: Wednesdays

Dates: October 30 – December 4, 2024

Time: 1:00pm-3:30pm

Location: Carleton University

Price: $200 +HST

Parking Info & Room Number will be sent by email 1-2 days prior to the lecture date

Overview

We all have a story to tell.  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 memories of your mother.  How do we capture our mother in a single story and is that even possible? What are the stories we want to remember, share and honor? We will work at isolating the small, rare and authentic stories that most effectively show who she was/is.  What made/makes her laugh? What were/are her secret pleasures and how do you know? What was/is outside her bedroom window? Did/Does she sing, read, dance, play cards, govern, teach, draw, design, write, administer, research – what did/does she keep in her top drawer and what was/is her favourite sweater?   How might writing about our mothers give us a glimpse into who we are, who we were and who we have become? Please prepare for this course by collecting photographs and “artifacts” (jewelry, scarves, books, spoons, cameras…) that you associate with your mother.  Bring your own writing instruments and photographs 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.

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.