Writing Divinity

Learning to write as a spiritual practice

April 9, 16, and 23 | 3:00 PM ET | Facilitated by Elizabeth Sutterlin, Lâle Davidson, and Judah Leblang

The written word has long been a site of spirituality. Whether through poetry, fiction, or non-fiction, people have been expressing their relationship to the divine by writing for thousands of years. But this practice can seem out of reach for those of us who are not trained writers or theologians.

In this series, three writers will present a path to writing as a spiritual practice. They will lead discussion, share their perspectives, and provide time for writing and sharing.

This series is pay-as-led (from $0 to $15/session). You may register for one session, two, or all three.

You can register for the series at the button below, or scroll to the bottom for the full registration form.

Saturday, April 9:
Finding Beauty in Poetry with Elizabeth Sutterlin

Elizabeth Sutterlin is a poet and writer deeply interested in the relational and healing power of poetry. She draws frequent inspiration from the natural world, and can be found hiking through all manner of parks when she isn’t writing. Her poetry has been published in Sixfold and Short Edition. She works at an international nonprofit in Washington, DC.

Saturday, April 16:
Creating Worlds in Fiction with Lâle Davidson

Lâle Davidson is an author from Saratoga. “Described as magic realism at its best,” Lâle Davidson’s novel, Blue Woman Burning, was published by Emperor Books in 2021. Her flash fiction-prose poetry collection Strange Appetites won the Adirondack Center for Writing’s People’s Choice Award in 2016 and was recently re-issued. Her latest novel, Against the Grain, about two activists during Redwood Summer 1990, racing to save 2000-year-old redwoods from the rapacious appetite of a hedge fund operator, is due out April 19. Distinguished Professor of writing at SUNY Adirondack, she received the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Scholarship and Creative Activities in 2017. More information and links to published work at Laledavidson.com

Saturday, April 23: Exploring the Self in Non-fiction with Judah Leblang

Judah Leblang is a writer, teacher, and storyteller in Boston. He is a regular columnist for Bay Windows, Boston’s LGBT weekly newspaper, and the author of two memoirs: Finding My Place (Lake Effect Press, 2012) and Echoes of Jerry (Red Giant Books, 2019). He has performed his one-man shows at Fringe Festivals in the US and Canada, including Chicago, Minneapolis, and Winnipeg, Edmonton and Calgary. Judah teaches memoir and nonfiction writing at GrubStreet in Boston, and at Literary Cleveland in his hometown of Cleveland, Ohio.