Lahpet Thoke Writing
Please join us for Lahpet Thoke Writing for BIPOC Communities.
WHY LAHPET THOKE?
Lahpet thoke refers to Burmese pickled tea leaf salad, which blends spicy, sweet, bitter, sour, crunchy, and chewy ingredients, all mixed together by hand.
I chose this name because this writing practice generates endless combinations depending upon the participants and the poems, and every creation is unique.
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Tell Me More About The Classes
The method is simple yet profound. First I read you a poem, then I offer you a few jump-off lines. We write for 15 minutes by hand, writing as quickly and poorly as possible to outrun the critical voice, and engage our creative unconscious. Then we share what we have generated, without any qualifiers or commentary. Just revealing, listening, and bearing witness to our humanity. Then we do it all over again, three times total.
These 1.5-hour, 8-week sessions meet via Zoom. All you need is a pen, paper, and a quiet space. Each class is limited to 6 participants.
I invite you to join me in exploring Lahpet Thoke Writing. To sign up or set up a time to learn more, click the button below.
How Is This Different From Other Writing Classes?
The magic of this process is that it sends you into the crevices of your mind and heart. It lets you turn over the rock and see what is below the surface, unfiltered. The psyche is never arbitrary, although it can communicate symbolically. When we share our writing aloud, we do so with others who have also chosen vulnerability in community.
This practice has been grounding and healing for me, especially during these recent whirlwind years we are all experiencing, and I want to share this offering with you. You don’t have to be a writer to participate, just a human with a desire to investigate your life through freewriting.
This writing practice is not a writing workshop with lessons about technique, grammar, craft, or form. There is no critique or feedback. You don’t need any prior writing experience, although for writers this practice can be a generative space. The point is to write quickly and freely, and to remain open to whatever arises, without judgment.
Photo Credit: In Her Image Photography
Why BIPOC Communities?
Creating this safe space for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) communities to explore, dredge, grieve, celebrate, and acknowledge, adds an even deeper level of possibility for this practice.
I have ached for this space—to combine the healing and community of this writing practice, with the unspoken understanding of being BIPOC—which is not to say these experiences are at all identical.
I aim to create the circle, to set the table so together we can make the tea salad. The class is also an area of confidentiality—participants do not discuss other people’s writing inside or outside of the circle.
If this sounds compelling to you, click the button below to set up a time to chat.
Dates
8-Week Sessions run from March through June 2023
- Wednesdays, 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM Pacific Time. April 19 through June 7.
- Thursdays, 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM Pacific Time. March 2 through April 20. [CLASS FULL: CONTACT TO BE ADDED TO WAITLIST]
Registration is limited to 6 participants per class. All classes meet via Zoom.
COST
$360 for eight classes. Please contact me for information about scholarships and payment plans. Bring a friend and each of you will receive 20 percent off of your first 8-week session!
TESTIMONIALS
Her classes are a place of rich intuition and self-understanding.
Thet guides a beautiful class from a place of compassion, presence, and intellect.
She has a warmth that is born of curiosity and a lifetime of many experiences. Her classes are a place of rich intuition and self-understanding. I recommend exploring this life-enriching practice with Thet.
-Kenyatta Monroe-Sinkler
TESTIMONIALS
As a daughter of immigrant parents from Burma with her own complicated family history, she is uniquely suited to serve as a creative guide for others exploring their personal journeys.
-S. Tan