MOTHER IS A PLACE
BOOK EVENTS
9. 15. 26
Providence, RI
Riffraff Bookstore 7PM
w/ Roddy Bottum, Alex Auder, and Danielle Vogel
9. 29. 26
NYC
Readings at Parkside
Parkside Lounge 7PM
10. 10. 26
Leyden, MA
Leyden Livingroom 6PM
With Faria Chaudhry
10. 25. 26
Boston/Jamaica Plain
Papercuts 6-8PM
10. 29. 26
Easton, MA
Stonehill College Library 4:30PM
11. 5. 26
Providence, RI
Symposium Books 6PM
in conversation with Sam Cohen
11. 7. 26
Hudson, NY
The Spotty Dog 7PM
11. 8. 26
Rensselaerville, NY
Rensselaerville Library 3PM
11. 24. 26
Lang Craft Talk
Eugene Lang College for the Arts
Virtual 12:20-1:30PM
12. 7. 26
Los Angeles, CA
Stories Books and Cafe 7PM
12. 10. 26
Powell’s
Portland, OR
In conversation with Lidia Yuknavitch
2. 4. 27
San Francisco, CA
Fabulosa Books
Wednesday June 24th, 2026 7pm
In conversation with Jibz Cameron about their memoir Hell in a Handbag
Riffraff Bookstore, Providence RI
Saturday May 23rd, 2026 12PM—3PM Pacific over Zoom
Living On the Edge: A Virtual Workshop with Corporeal Writing
with Amra Brooks
(A recording will be made available to all registrants for a limited period afterwards.)
The Peripheral: Living on the Edge- We will look at work and do writing experiments that lean into all the things outside the main frame. Focusing on the peripheral can be a coping mechanism, a survival tactic, a source of inspiration, and a way to stay present and expand awareness. The peripheral is a rich and breathing place made up of physical facts that connect us to a time and place, a moment, or a sensation. If we open ourselves and our work to include the elements of life that often go unnamed, the edges come to life and show what is often hidden or silenced. These edges give root, layer, and texture to our work. They ground and tether us, make memory, and create meaning. We will use our attention to learn about and name what is there. We will look at work by writers and filmmakers for examples and possibilities. I will offer ways to deepen your writing practice both together and on your own. Open to writers in any genre. The OED defines the periphery as “an area lying beyond the strict limits of a thing.” Let’s push and reach the beyond together. To reside in the margins and on the edge is an experience many of us know well.
“I absolutely cannot define things. So I circle around it. I write around the film, around the hole, let’s say, or around the void. Because I want to go make a documentary without knowing what I’m doing. They always demand, “Tell us what you’re going to do.” And all I can tell you is that I just don’t know. It’s precisely because of this lack of knowledge that there can be a film.”- Chantal Akerman
"In short I tried to think. I failed. My attention veered inexorably back to the specific, to the tangible, to what was generally considered, by everyone I knew then and for that matter have known since, the peripheral. I would try to contemplate the Hegelian dialectic and would find myself concentrating instead on a flowering pear tree outside my window and the particular way the petals fell on my floor.”- Joan Didion