Storytelling with Tarot: A Fiction Writing Workshop [Durham, NC]
**This course is in-person only. There is no virtual component. Participants must be age 21+
Full Tuition: $340 — Sliding-scale tuition options are available in the drop-down enrollment menu for you to self-select. To pay in installments, choose to pay with PayPal at check out.
Instructor: Christa Westaway | 5-weeks| Mondays | September 8-October 6 | 7:00-9:00 PM ET | 719 N Mangum St, Durham, NC
Tarot’s legacy has long been linked to divination and fortune telling. Tarot carries with it a quality of mystique, not unlike the act of creation itself. Many writers are asked where their stories come from because the process of crafting a story is as mysterious as it is concrete. Similar to writers, fortune tellers surrender to their imagination and trust that their connection to hidden truths will surface as they speak. The process of creation is the same for both writer and fortune teller: the story unfolds with each sentence that leads somewhere unknown until it’s in the air or on the page. It’s not surprising that Tarot has influenced writers and artists like T.S. Elliot, Salvador Dali, and Sylvia Plath, or that Tarot continues to inspire many contemporary writers and artists today. Writers who use the Tarot for storytelling know that the cards create rich and complex characters, conflicts, and symbolism within their stories. Tarot has a way to sooth busy minds. It helps writers get unstuck when they’re creatively blocked. The Tarot is made of 78 miniature stories that are cyclical and connected by numbers, motifs, and patterns, and it’s common for the Tarot to invoke intrigue and induce creativity particularly with storytelling.
Using the Tarot as inspiration, we’ll study cards from different decks to generate our own works of fiction. In this 5-week craft course, we will read and discuss short essays about Tarot and storytelling, learn the meanings behind the cards, and practice with weekly in-class writing exercises using the cards as guided prompts. This course is for writers at all levels, and prior knowledge about the Tarot isn’t necessary. Writers who have taken the course before are welcome to return for more opportunities to write using the Tarot.
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This class will take place in person at Night School Bar in Durham. Night School requires that students refrain from attending in-person classes when sick. For more on our class policies, see our FAQ. Instructors will also follow this policy. If your instructor is sick, class may be moved to online for a session or rescheduled to the week following the final scheduled session at the instructor’s discretion.
Sliding Scale: Night School Bar pays instructors and staff a living wage. We ask that people who make above the living wage threshold for their area strongly consider choosing the full-tuition or mid-level tuition tier in order to support our own living wage program. For Durham, NC, where we are located, the living wage threshold is $49,000 for an individual. All scholarship needs are self-assessed, and we will never request or require proof of need.
Scholarships: We are currently able to offer three full scholarships per class. Our full scholarship tier is a nonrefundable offering, limited to one per student per month. Because our scholarship funding is limited, selecting multiple full scholarships in a single month will result in disenrollment from all classes. If the scholarship tier you need is sold out please email us directly, and we will add you to a waitlist and notify you if additional scholarships become available. Please see our FAQ for more information, including installment plans and refund policy.
**This course is in-person only. There is no virtual component. Participants must be age 21+
Full Tuition: $340 — Sliding-scale tuition options are available in the drop-down enrollment menu for you to self-select. To pay in installments, choose to pay with PayPal at check out.
Instructor: Christa Westaway | 5-weeks| Mondays | September 8-October 6 | 7:00-9:00 PM ET | 719 N Mangum St, Durham, NC
Tarot’s legacy has long been linked to divination and fortune telling. Tarot carries with it a quality of mystique, not unlike the act of creation itself. Many writers are asked where their stories come from because the process of crafting a story is as mysterious as it is concrete. Similar to writers, fortune tellers surrender to their imagination and trust that their connection to hidden truths will surface as they speak. The process of creation is the same for both writer and fortune teller: the story unfolds with each sentence that leads somewhere unknown until it’s in the air or on the page. It’s not surprising that Tarot has influenced writers and artists like T.S. Elliot, Salvador Dali, and Sylvia Plath, or that Tarot continues to inspire many contemporary writers and artists today. Writers who use the Tarot for storytelling know that the cards create rich and complex characters, conflicts, and symbolism within their stories. Tarot has a way to sooth busy minds. It helps writers get unstuck when they’re creatively blocked. The Tarot is made of 78 miniature stories that are cyclical and connected by numbers, motifs, and patterns, and it’s common for the Tarot to invoke intrigue and induce creativity particularly with storytelling.
Using the Tarot as inspiration, we’ll study cards from different decks to generate our own works of fiction. In this 5-week craft course, we will read and discuss short essays about Tarot and storytelling, learn the meanings behind the cards, and practice with weekly in-class writing exercises using the cards as guided prompts. This course is for writers at all levels, and prior knowledge about the Tarot isn’t necessary. Writers who have taken the course before are welcome to return for more opportunities to write using the Tarot.
—
This class will take place in person at Night School Bar in Durham. Night School requires that students refrain from attending in-person classes when sick. For more on our class policies, see our FAQ. Instructors will also follow this policy. If your instructor is sick, class may be moved to online for a session or rescheduled to the week following the final scheduled session at the instructor’s discretion.
Sliding Scale: Night School Bar pays instructors and staff a living wage. We ask that people who make above the living wage threshold for their area strongly consider choosing the full-tuition or mid-level tuition tier in order to support our own living wage program. For Durham, NC, where we are located, the living wage threshold is $49,000 for an individual. All scholarship needs are self-assessed, and we will never request or require proof of need.
Scholarships: We are currently able to offer three full scholarships per class. Our full scholarship tier is a nonrefundable offering, limited to one per student per month. Because our scholarship funding is limited, selecting multiple full scholarships in a single month will result in disenrollment from all classes. If the scholarship tier you need is sold out please email us directly, and we will add you to a waitlist and notify you if additional scholarships become available. Please see our FAQ for more information, including installment plans and refund policy.
**This course is in-person only. There is no virtual component. Participants must be age 21+
Full Tuition: $340 — Sliding-scale tuition options are available in the drop-down enrollment menu for you to self-select. To pay in installments, choose to pay with PayPal at check out.
Instructor: Christa Westaway | 5-weeks| Mondays | September 8-October 6 | 7:00-9:00 PM ET | 719 N Mangum St, Durham, NC
Tarot’s legacy has long been linked to divination and fortune telling. Tarot carries with it a quality of mystique, not unlike the act of creation itself. Many writers are asked where their stories come from because the process of crafting a story is as mysterious as it is concrete. Similar to writers, fortune tellers surrender to their imagination and trust that their connection to hidden truths will surface as they speak. The process of creation is the same for both writer and fortune teller: the story unfolds with each sentence that leads somewhere unknown until it’s in the air or on the page. It’s not surprising that Tarot has influenced writers and artists like T.S. Elliot, Salvador Dali, and Sylvia Plath, or that Tarot continues to inspire many contemporary writers and artists today. Writers who use the Tarot for storytelling know that the cards create rich and complex characters, conflicts, and symbolism within their stories. Tarot has a way to sooth busy minds. It helps writers get unstuck when they’re creatively blocked. The Tarot is made of 78 miniature stories that are cyclical and connected by numbers, motifs, and patterns, and it’s common for the Tarot to invoke intrigue and induce creativity particularly with storytelling.
Using the Tarot as inspiration, we’ll study cards from different decks to generate our own works of fiction. In this 5-week craft course, we will read and discuss short essays about Tarot and storytelling, learn the meanings behind the cards, and practice with weekly in-class writing exercises using the cards as guided prompts. This course is for writers at all levels, and prior knowledge about the Tarot isn’t necessary. Writers who have taken the course before are welcome to return for more opportunities to write using the Tarot.
—
This class will take place in person at Night School Bar in Durham. Night School requires that students refrain from attending in-person classes when sick. For more on our class policies, see our FAQ. Instructors will also follow this policy. If your instructor is sick, class may be moved to online for a session or rescheduled to the week following the final scheduled session at the instructor’s discretion.
Sliding Scale: Night School Bar pays instructors and staff a living wage. We ask that people who make above the living wage threshold for their area strongly consider choosing the full-tuition or mid-level tuition tier in order to support our own living wage program. For Durham, NC, where we are located, the living wage threshold is $49,000 for an individual. All scholarship needs are self-assessed, and we will never request or require proof of need.
Scholarships: We are currently able to offer three full scholarships per class. Our full scholarship tier is a nonrefundable offering, limited to one per student per month. Because our scholarship funding is limited, selecting multiple full scholarships in a single month will result in disenrollment from all classes. If the scholarship tier you need is sold out please email us directly, and we will add you to a waitlist and notify you if additional scholarships become available. Please see our FAQ for more information, including installment plans and refund policy.