As a result of the pandemic and the ensuing pedagogical and logistical difficulties, MPS fellow Jordan Dahlen had to cancel their original project, and took that opportunity to not only re-think their work, but the larger structural difficulties and flaws that socially distant and asynchronous learning illuminates in pedagogy, particularly in creative writing workshops.

After being graciously absorbed into and buoyed up by the organization 916 Ink in Sacramento, Dahlen’s research has concluded with a presentation that seeks to offer compelling models for how to proceed as a community of writers, artists, and thinkers into the future. In ‘Moments of Permission,’ Dahlen seeks to reckon with the history of the creative writing workshop and to identify successful models of writing instruction and community organization that might continue to foster brighter days full of the talents that exist around us.