Come hear Kati speak at the tenth-annual Examined Life Conference, three-day gathering that focuses on the links between the science of medicine and the arts. The conference is hosted by The University of Iowa's Carver College of Medicine. Kati's workshop "The Telling Itself" focuses on how to coach writers through the craft problems of illness:
"The problems of modern illness are the craft problems of illness narratives. Overly technical language, periods of disorientation, the inextricability of one ailment from the next, and the onerous play-by-plays of treatment can make drafts of illness narratives challenging to read and revise, despite their importance.
Though the therapeutic benefits of drafting are well established, in this workshop participants will consider the potential of using literary craft strategies as tools to help writers restructure their experiences and restore narrative coherence. Drawing on the lessons of my ongoing work with community-level writers, I’ll share the transformative power of teaching about chronology, scope, framing, and widening the narrative lens, discuss ways to avoid student re-traumatization, and explore how a supportive community can help writers see past doctors and medical technology to identify the real hero of their illness narratives: themselves."
