For some people, writing is not only a creative outlet, but a cathartic one. That's true for "Perry," a previous resident of North Carolina and survivor of domestic abuse.
She's using an alternate name to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation.
A few years ago, Perry entered a relationship with an older, successful coworker. She said the relationship went well for several months 鈥� until the emotional and sexual abuse began.
"It really broke me down, not being able to talk to anyone about it, because most of the people I knew (also) knew him and thought the world of him, as did I when I first met him,鈥� Perry said. 鈥淎nd so, it became this extreme isolation of, am I going insane?鈥�
After two difficult years, she left the relationship. As she looked for ways to process what had happened to her, she found a post on Instagram by the . They were offering a free fiction writing class for survivors of domestic violence.
Perry spent six weeks in the class learning, writing, and sharing alongside other survivors. She said the experience helped her rebuild her confidence.
鈥淪ometimes there can be a belief that, like, well, if they didn't physically harm you, then it wasn鈥檛 abuse,鈥� Perry said. 鈥淎nd with Redbud, it was, you know, we see different types of abuse, financial, sexual, emotional, and they're all valid, and nobody deserves to go through that.鈥�
How the Redbud Writing Project started
is the Triangle鈥檚 only creative writing school for adults. Before its launch in July 2019, it started with a partnership between two North Carolina State University graduates.
Emily Cataneo and Arshia Simkin met there while earning their master鈥檚 in creative writing. As master鈥檚 degree students, they had the opportunity to teach undergraduates, and they both fell in love with the process.
However, opportunities to teach creative writing professionally are limited 鈥� something that contributed to Redbud鈥檚 creation.
鈥淚 was talking to a friend (at a writing conference), and I was talking about how much I loved teaching, but how hard it is to find positions in academia teaching creative writing,鈥� Cataneo said. 鈥淎nd she said, 鈥榃ell, why don't you think about starting something yourself?鈥� And, that sort of got the wheels in my head turning.鈥�
Cataneo and Simkin said they knew they wanted to make Redbud鈥檚 instruction accessible.
鈥淭he arts are so often siloed in an academy, or if there's a class that you might take out in the real world, it might be not that rigorous or not that advanced,鈥� Cataneo said. 鈥淪o, we really wanted to bring that rigor and sense of care and intensity to the general public and not just keep it in the ivory tower.鈥�
In July 2019, five students attended their first, three-day class at , a community bookstore in Raleigh.
Now, Redbud offers multiple classes in six-week increments throughout the Triangle. They range in topics from "Intro to Memoir," to "Fairytale and Fiction," to "Writing in Dark Times." Other classes 鈥� like their 鈥� can last a full year. It accepts a small pool of students with the goal of helping them write a book.
The birth of 鈥渃ommunity classes鈥�
To support their accessibility mission, Cataneo and Simkin offer multiple financial avenues for students. For paid classes, there are two options. The more expensive "true price" helps Redbud cover things like instructor wages and rental fees. But students on a budget can choose the cheaper "base price" or apply for scholarships.
Redbud also offers free classes geared toward certain populations. These 鈥渃ommunity classes鈥� serve underprivileged groups like , low-income seniors, and .
For Simkin, the survivors of domestic violence class is personal. She said it鈥檚 inspired by her time as an attorney providing legal aid.
鈥淚 remember how it felt doing the work, where I was simultaneously like, this is so important, and I'm so grateful that I get to help people who are really in need, and sort of fight the good fight against a very unfair system,鈥� Simkin said.
鈥淏ut at the same time, I saw firsthand how drastically the judicial system is set up against the victim, against survivors,鈥� she added. "And it became kind of demoralizing after a while where, you know, no matter how good, how perfect the victim was, and like, that's sadly the terms you had to look at it in 鈥� how good their story was, how well I could articulate it, how many cases I had lined up behind me, it was still going to come out lopsided.鈥�
In 2022, Cataneo and Simkin connected with , an organization that provides support and resources for survivors. With their help, Redbud found students for the first iteration of the class.
While students in community classes are free to write in any style they want, Cataneo said the students appreciated how writing about abuse was taught.
"We were teaching them how to write stories in a fairy tale style, because that can be a really safe-feeling way, I think, to process experiences like that, if you sort of couch-it in metaphor and in this folklore-type style,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd they all found that to be really interesting and a really productive way to set down their experiences without, you know, having to necessarily face them head on, on the page right away.鈥�
Alongside lessons, students also have the option of sharing their writing with the class. Simkin said she saw them benefit from being listened to.
"They will get to hear (from their peers), even on a craft level, how well they've crafted a certain sentence, or how moving a certain image was, and I think that, again, is just so unusual to sort of have someone pay attention to the words that you are putting out there,鈥� she said.
Redbud鈥檚 impact on student
For students in any of Redbud鈥檚 classes, the camaraderie that comes with sharing is a major theme. 61-year-old Leah Oettinger has taken half a dozen classes with Redbud. She鈥檚 been admitted into this year鈥檚 six-month Nonfiction Intensive to work on her memoir.
The memoir, titled 鈥淚n the Gloaming,鈥� is about her 29 years of marriage to her husband, Brick, and their experience with hospice.
Brick recently passed away from multiple system atrophy, a neurological disorder that leads the body鈥檚 autonomic functions 鈥� like breathing or bladder control 鈥� to shut down over time.
鈥淚 wrote something to the extent of 鈥業 feel this urgency to express, this catharsis, to put words to paper, fingertips to computer keys鈥� and referenced memoirist Mary Carr,鈥� Oettinger said of writing her memoir. 鈥淲ho did say, and I agree with her, that writing from your wounds is somewhat premature, rather than writing from your scars. And yet, there was this sense that I felt that I didn't have the luxury of scar tissue.鈥�
She鈥檚 returning to Redbud this year after a break following Brick鈥檚 death. Oettinger said she missed the students she took classes with and the camaraderie that came through sharing their work with one another.
鈥淲e kind of band together to shore each other up. And it's not just, 'Well, aren't you fabulous,' but it's also, 'You know, I think I would have changed that around, or I'm not sure that I would have put that there, tell me what your thought process (was) when that was happening.'"
Meanwhile, 鈥淧erry鈥� said she felt the same way after taking Redbud鈥檚 survivors of domestic violence class. Though she no longer lives in North Carolina, she has continued writing and creating.
鈥淚t opened the door to my creative process again,鈥� she said of the class. 鈥淚 lost so much of my creativity in that relationship. I stopped painting, I stopped making music, I stopped cooking, I stopped writing. You know, everything that made me colorful and fun, I feel like got beaten out of me, and this class kind of opened the door again on all of that. So, I don't know, life just has more color.
Redbud secured funding for three, six-week sessions of the survivors of domestic violence class this year 鈥� thanks to a grant of $12,000 from Quail Ridge Books.
is based in memoir writing. It starts Tuesday at Redbud's headquarters in Raleigh.
