This workshop is designed for LGBTQ+ writers of all levels. The goal of this workshop is to explore common themes that help us develop our community by using free writing or stream of consciousness writing as it is sometimes called, based on guided prompts. This will be a safe and affirming space and will be a no critique/no criticism workshop. However, there will be opportunities for participants to share their work with the group. The purpose of the workshop is to give participants additional tools to stash in their toolbox and to encourage and support participants no matter where they are on their writing journey. It is the goal of the workshop to help LGBTQ+ individuals to develop their writing skills and encourage them to pick up their pens to write about their unique experiences. Tuesdays, January 10th, 17th, 24th, 31st, and February 7th and 14th, 7:00-8:00pm. Course fee $25 (hardship sponsorships are available). Please click here to register by December 15. Meet the teaching artist: Barbara Marie Minney, a native of West Virginia, is a transgender woman, award-winning poet, writer, and quiet activist. Her work has appeared in numerous anthologies and publications, including Politico and The Buckeye Flame. Barbara also wrote the introduction to the 2021 Akron Pride Festival Guide. Barbara’s first collection of poetry, If There’s No Heaven, was the winner of the 2020 Poetry Is Life Book Award and was selected by the Akron Beacon Journal as a Best Northeast Ohio Book in 2020. Barbara is a retired attorney and lives in Tallmadge, Ohio, with her wife of over 40 years.