Telling stories: Greenhills Visiting Writer shares ideas

With her second visit to campus of the school year, Greenhills Visiting Writer Rachel DeWoskin continues encouraging a new generation of writers to find their voices. 

The most recent visit culminated with a special Saturday workshop, “Explorations in Fiction,” conducted for writers and aspiring writers in the Greenhills dining room.

DeWoskin, author of the novels Big Girl Small, Repeat After Me, and the critically acclaimed Blind, is a member of the full-time fiction faculty at the University of Chicago. She grew up in Ann Arbor and graduated from Community High School.

“We’re really fortunate to have her,” said Anthony Pariano, one of the coordinators of the visiting writer program. “She’s an educator, just as much as she is a writer. … She’s just great with the kids.”

During her school-week visits, she’s worked with middle school and high school students alike, helping them hone their language skills and their imaginations. One exercise involved having students come up with a fictional account of their own births. She’s also helped students see stories they’re working on from a variety of points of view, and helped them imagine telling those tales through both poetry and prose.

Among older students, she spent time with Head of School Carl Pelofsky’s creative writing class, helping them sort through ideas they’ve come up with for a novel they’re collaborating on.

DeWoskin also has spoken with faculty about the relationship between culture, identity, and language, as well as reading from her novel-in-progress.

Current plans call for her to return to Greenhills twice more during the academic year, including an appearance as speaker at this year’s McDowell Awards ceremony.