Appearance
10/31/2026
What you can read under the word "format" below is an aspirational and developing scheme for a workshop. I'm working on it.
What's essential is that we've all closely read Rowan's piece once--ideally twice--and that we sit eager to help Rowan develop the piece further.
For the password to the folder, email me: howebenhowe@proton.me.
List of participants TBD! By which I mean, if you're reading this and interested, or know someone else who is, hit me up at the email above or call me, if you have my number.
Bigshadow, crudely, follows the Iowa model. The writer on the table should keep largely mum. Laughter is tolerated as well as prophylaxis like: "This is interesting conversation, but its direction is moot to my purposes." Workshops propel in proportion to the candor and commitment of participant criticism. They are diminished by performance and equivocation. So! Disagree thoughtfully and unabashedly.
Every workshop, there will be five people with named roles. I will not relinquish my role. Other roles rotate and are voluntary.
Donor: one person // contributes work two weeks in advance of workshop // indicates passage on which to focus or names a challenging aspect
Facilitator: me, Ben // scrounges two reference texts addressing authors' focus // supplies line edits at end of workshop
Hoi Polloi the other four to six // expected to have read closely // line edits optional // 3-by-5 notecard of strengths and weaknesses optional
We will interpolate with constructive interjections, questions, rooftop cigarettes, filling one anothers' glasses, and so on. I will have prepared surplus food.
Session will meet at my home, in the Two Bridges neighborhood. For address, email me.
Feel free to solicit anyone's interest in this workshop, pass them my contact information, or a link to this website. As host and facilitor, I'll set the list of invitees for every session.
Someone else has always done it better. Or at least well. Or so poorly that the failure makes a sharply defined negative space. Whether good or bad, the reference texts should always illuminate a particular claim so that they can be responded to directly. They should also be very short, say 100 words.
Hardly my idea, I pulled this from Jim Nelson's post, itself describing Transfer Magazine's method:
Each reader writes on a 3-by-5 card a 1–2 sentence reaction to the story and uses the remaining space to describe its strengths and weaknesses. Use both sides of the card. Then the cards are read to the group verbatim. Readers will learn not to use the watered-down language so often found in a full-page responses (“I really like this piece,” or “This is strong.”) From there, launch into the general discussion.
Workshop meets the first Thursday of the month, unless otherwise specified here.
In this case, Thursday 11/5/2026
Ben Howe // howebenhowe@proton.me
Please let me know what you can't eat. I already know I won't be able to sit still if there's someone hungry in my home.