| Displaced Corps
In 2003, Founding Director Sehba Sarwar and VBB volunteer Shaista
Parveen began offering 6-week writing workshops entitled Voices
of the Displaced: Searching for Personal Voice through Writing.
Over a span of 18 months, VBB offered five sessions and drew more
than 30 writers from diverse backgrounds (Mexican Americans, African
Americans and Caucasians, immigrants from countries such as India,
Pakistan and Argentina, different age ranges and individuals with
different sexual preferences).
In the Fall of 2004, Voices of the Displaced ended offering formal
sessions and morphed into a support group, Displaced Corps,
for writers. Currently, the group meets on a regular basis to workshop
participants’ work and write together. Displaced Corps’ core
group draws writers who work in different genres and hail from a
variety of backgrounds. Some of the artists are interested in exploring
performance art and the group recently performed a jazz-spoken word
piece at the Dosti forum in a partnership with Deep Listening Institute.
Great because of location and the diverse
group of voices and life stories that we are able to share, formally
and informally. Hearing the intensity of everyone’s need
to speak and say their pieces is so valuable because, within this
sharing, the dream of understanding one another is realized. Made
real. Live.
–Voices of the
Displaced Participant
Voices of the Displaced really helped affirm my personal voice.
The sacred time for writing in every workshop along with the great
space was conducive to increasing the frequency and quality of my
wiring. I think the size of the group also allowed for trust and
intimacy to develop witho ther writers. I felt more comfortable sharing
my work.
– Voices of the Displaced Participant
As a student and inexperienced writer it
is invaluable for me to be in the company of writers to get a true
sense of how they structure their works and how they channel their
ideas into pieces that can develop into polished stories, essays,
etc.
–Participant
of Voices of the Displaced and Displaced Corps
The writing workshop really has inspired
me to work on this thing called writing. Ever since I was very
small, I have always loved writing and reading. But, i think now,
somewhere in the academic jargon world of college i lost my desire
to communicate. So thanks for having the inspiration and the drive
to put it all together. [the workshop] has really been amazing
for me. i honestly had never imagined that i could be a writer
until the workshop.
–Participant
of Voices of the Displaced and Displaced Corps
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