Writing Workshops

Folk Memory: A Generative Workshop for Writing Folklore with Jessie McCarty

$175

2 sessions

In stock

Saturday & Sunday 3:00 pm EDT - 6:00 pm EDT October 18 to October 19, 2025

Online via Zoom

Add to Cart

Folk Memory is a two-day generative workshop, cross-referencing oral stories, contemporary folk narratives, and digital repositories to help writers appreciate and jumpstart their stories within the folklore and fable genre. We will use examples of Irish folklore, folklore from the American South and Midwest, as well as folklore from other regions. Whether you are new to writing or well into your career, folklorists and fabulists of all backgrounds are encouraged to participate.

Teaching Style: Jessie McCarty’s teaching style is conversational while leaning towards visual references and group readings. I always share resources for long-term reference. I am drawn to the bibliographic approach to teaching, believing everyone’s writing speaks towards an even bigger canon and thus I give each student a reading and archive list tailored toward’s their needs for the workshop. Students can expect to leave with a wider knowledge of folklore writing happening today, especially towards the South, and where to visit folklore archives in the U.S. I hope this is a a less-daunting approach to starting your own genre based writing. There is power in your history, and we can find it in folklore.

Level: Intermediate

This course will be held online via Zoom.

Led by

Jessie McCarty

Jessie McCarty

Jessie McCarty is a transmasc cataloger and writer. Their poetry, in English and Gaeilge, uses archival and taxonomy as memory tools. Their poems have been published in Sarka, the Minnesota Review, Charm School, the Documentarian, Don’t Submit Lit, Thick Press, and more. They write the newsletter Poetic Classifications on Substack. Pretty Punks is out December 2025 with Magra Books.

About this series

Writing Workshops

We strive to make our classes the most inviting and rewarding available, offering an intimate environment to study with award-winning, world-class writers. Each class is specially designed by the instructor, so whether you’re a fledgling writer or an MFA graduate polishing your novel, you’ll find a perfect fit here.

Groups+Workshops

More Groups+Workshops

Groups+Workshops