ENTER QUANTUM ARCHIVES SITE

Quantum Archives: An Alt Writing School

Writing and education have been a consistent passion for me and my life’s work. I have been an educator and a writer for over a decade and have been so blessed to have witnessed a renaissance-like shift in who is platformed in poetry from when I began as a poet. The voices of trans and queer writers of color are now a vibrant and varied chorus. There is still so much more work to do, but here is another way I’d like to engage with that joy and opportunity for a more liberatory experience for all through writing. .

With the launch of Quantum Archives, I will begin leading various virtual courses for participants. Once funding is acquired I will offer paid opportunities for other writers aligned with this vision to teach courses.

“andriniki put such a phenomenal amount of work into building this container, a rich and generative experience that helped me become enchanted with the world around me and my own inner experiences.”

“I finished workshops feeling energized and clear in the control I must harness when it comes to creative writing, especially poetry.”

“andriniki has impressive skills as a facilitator, bestowing an understanding of the dual building blocks of making work: cultivating a sense of play and pleasure along with encouraging accountability in the (literal) every day act of putting pen to paper.”

“Quantum Archives invited me into a writing space of discovery, listening and multiplicity with a genuine sense of support. ”

“andriniki is a gentle teacher who’s keen to listen. I would urge anyone struggling with coming out of a writing funk or needing a poetic injection/induction from someone who really cares about the craft to reach out to and explore quantum archives.”

The craft of writing is already at work in everything you do: that letter you wrote to your friend in class; a reddit post from your secret account about your favorite niche show; the guest book you wrote goodbyes into for an eventful but short trip. I will guide you through techniques to craft with intent, to precisely needle into seams to create a tapestry you are proud to share.

We will explore the gray areas, the both, the in-between. We will lift from our own living archive. I will invite us to gather and reflect on craft through the eyes and hearts of impactful and timeless writers: Natalie Diaz, June Jordan, Danez Smith, Toni Morrison, Lydia Davis, Claudia Rankine, Juliana Huxtable and others. We will explore song lyrics of artists from Bjork to Frank Ocean. We will study screenplays from Jordan Peele to Martine Syms, cult classics like Donnie Darko and more. 

I will provide prompts to open the well of our stories and gently access memories and lived experiences, to turn on a light in the rooms we yearn to explore with story. I will help you develop poetic techniques to apply to any genre or inter-genre. I will teach you how to cut across the static to get to the core of your intent. 

This is a generative workshop where we will engage in writing exercises during every session. And each participant will have the opportunity to be workshopped thoughtfully by their peers. Short readings will be assigned before each class for discussion. At the end of the course, you will have gathered ideas for new projects and a start to a portfolio of writing.

This Level I workshop is beneficial to new and seasoned writers of any field looking to bring poetic techniques to their craft and create concise, emotive, and image driven language. And it is also good for a soft launch for poets into fiction writing.