Celebrating The Hero In You writing workshop with Marita Golden

February is a month in which we celebrate African-American men and women heroes. In addition, this year let’s celebrate ourselves, for the many ways in which we perform big and small acts of heroism for ourselves and others.

As we become more conscious of supporting mental health and wellness, acknowledging our gifts, our value, and our heroism becomes part of the new language we are creating.

In this workshop, we will discuss and write about our daily or regular acts of heroism in our family, friendship, and work circles and how those acts have enlarged us.

We’ll talk and write about how heroism for most of us is not exceptional, but built into the fabric of our lives. And we’ll speak the names of the unsung “ordinary” heroes who inspired us.  

Using prose or poetry we’ll write about our personal heroes, as well as our own heroic moments. 

How have parents, teachers, friends, and strangers, shown up in our lives and lifted us to new heights?

Protected or even saved us?

How have we done the same? 

Bring your pen, paper, questions, and get ready to be inspired!

Marita Golden is an award-winning author of over twenty works of fiction and nonfiction. Her books include the novels The Wide Circumference of Love, and After and the memoirs Migrations of the Heart, Saving Our Sons and Don’t Play in the Sun One Woman’s Journey Through the Color Complex Her most recent work of nonfiction is The New Black Woman: Loves Herself, Has Boundaries, and Heals Every Day, a sequel to her book, The Strong Black Woman: How a Myth Endangers the Physical and Mental Health of Black Women.

Marita Golden is a popular speaker who has presented keynote addresses, presentations and lectures in diverse venues from HBCUs, colleges and universities to corporations and nonprofits.  She has been a consultant with John Hopkins Medical, presenting quarterly workshops on mental health, radical self-care, and writing as a tool for healing. She has spoken on radical self-care at Yale, MIT, and The Kennedy School of Government.

She is the recipient of many awards including the Writers for Writers Award presented by Barnes & Noble and Poets and Writers, an award from the Authors Guild, and the Fiction Award for her novel After, awarded by the Black Caucus of the American Library Association.  She has lectured and read from her work internationally. She has appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show, been featured as a question on Jeopardy, and is a two-time NAACP Image Award nominee. She has been frequently interviewed on NPR.

Co-founder and President Emerita of the Zora Neale Hurston/ Richard Wright Foundation,  Marita Golden is a veteran teacher of writing. She taught at the University of Lagos, in Nigeria and has served as a member of the faculties of the MFA Graduate Creative Writing Programs at George Mason University and Virginia Commonwealth University and in the MA Creative Writing Program at John Hopkins University. She has served as Distinguished Writer in Residence at the University of the District of Columbia. As a literary consultant, she offers writing workshops, coaching, and manuscript evaluation services. maritagolden.com