Community writing, reading workshop ‘Writing to Heal’ to address violence against women

ASHEBORO – Join poets Melissa Hassard and Debra Kaufman for “Writing to Heal,” a community writing and reading workshop addressing violence against women, at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, November 17, at the Asheboro Public Library.

The workshop, supported by the North Carolina Arts Council and the Regional Artist Project Grant program, is free and the public is invited.

Hassard and Kaufman will use selected poems from the anthology Red Sky: Poetry on the Global Epidemic of Violence Against Women (Sable Books 2018) to explore ways to talk about abuse, how families and communities are affected, and how breaking the silence is the first step toward healing. Participants will have time to reflect and write.

Representatives from local family services organizations also are invited to share information and resources. 

The two poets received a 2018 Regional Artist Project Grant to co-facilitate workshops in each of the region’s five counties, including Randolph. Hassard is managing editor of  Red Sky, a poetry collection that includes work by internationally recognized poets such as Naomi Shihab Nye, Fady Joudah and North Carolina Poet Laureate Jackie Shelton Green, as well as new and emerging voices.

The library is located at 201 Worth Street. For further information, call 336-318-6803.