Shawna Kenney

Instructor Biography:

M.F.A., award-winning author of the memoir I Was a Teenage Dominatrix and Contributing Editor with Narratively magazine. Her latest book is Live at the Safari Club and her essays have been published in The New York Times, Playboy, Creative Nonfiction and more.

Instructor Statement:

We are each an endless fountain of stories. My goal is to help students to believe that-- to help them feel the power of their own truth-telling. Wherever you came from, whatever you've endured, however it is that you live "it" is all fodder for your work and your own unique experience is valuable. As Derrick Jensen wrote in his book, Walking on Water, a well-traveled blues guitarist once said, "I can teach you everything I know in fifteen minutes. Then you just have to go home and practice for fifteen years." Classes can kick-start or reinforce a regular writing practice; flexing our creative muscles together as a community strengthens us as individuals.  I hope to serve as a guide, mentor and reminder of possibilities.

Our Students Say It Best:

"The teacher was great one on one, and the assignments were also really helpful." -- Writers' Program student

"Shawna is precise with language, clear with expectations and definite in her belief that all of us have interesting stories to tell and can learn to tell them well. She met each student on their terms (aesthetics as well as belief systems) and did not try to squeeze us into a specific type…" -- Writers' Program student