Multiply Your Obsessions and Write More

Join us online (link forthcoming) for this free virtual workshop led by ITC 2026 artist resident Cynthia Marie Hoffman! RSVP here! This two-hour generative creative writing class will have you thinking big and writing more by leaning into what already fascinates you. We’ll brainstorm a list of obsessions—those unanswered questions we keep returning to, and even the recurring signs and symbols that seem to keep finding us. What do these things mean in our lives, and how can we use them in our creative work? Taking inspiration from the diptych and triptych panel paintings first popularized more than 600 years ago, you’ll draft two (or three!) poems or flash memoir pieces that relate to each other. We’ll talk about using repetition of themes and imagery, call and response, and other strategies for envisioning a larger body of work and recognizing what makes you, as an author, unique. Your workshop leader is poet and essayist Cynthia Marie Hoffman, author of four collections of poetry on cohesive themes. She has extensive experience building projects from existing obsessions and cultivating new obsessions through research. This workshop will include lecture, readings, generative writing prompts, and some time to share. Writers of any level and genre are welcome. Come ready to write and play!