Few terms are more bandied about in discussions of writing craft than “voice”—and no term is more elusive to define. Yet we all know voice when we read it, just as we know when writing lacks voice, or is derivative of another’s voice. And so it is understandable that new and emerging writers want to “find their voice.”
But what if, as the poet William Stafford once suggested, 'You already have a voice, and don’t need find it?' What if, instead of searching for your voice, you could develop, or train it? And who says we only have one voice?
This workshop, meant for writers of all genres, will explore what voice is and isn’t. There will be models, discussion, Q&A. There will be practical suggestions, and exercises, for how any writer might cultivate and expand their vocal capacity.
DIANA GOETSCH is a poet, essayist, and journalist, author of eight collections of poems, dozens of nonfiction features and columns, and the acclaimed memoir This Body I Wore, listed among Memoirs that Changed a Generation at Oprah Daily. She’s written for The New Yorker, The American Scholar, and the Los Angeles Times. Her work has also appeared in Poetry, Ploughshares, The Gettysburg Review, The Southern Review, The Iowa Review, NPR, LitHub, Best American Poetry and The Pushcart Prize. Goetsch is a renowned teacher of writing and sought after mentor, who has held faculty and Distinguished Visiting posts at dozens of colleges and conferences.
