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Street Lit & the Street Lit Author's Club provides books & creative writing workshops for Missoula's & Austin's homeless communities.
Pulitzer Prize-winning poet and essayist, Richard Hugo, reminds us that the work of a fledgling writer "may be of no importance to the world of high culture, but it may be very important to the student. It is a small thing, but it is also small and wrong to forget or ignore lives that can use a single microscopic moment of personal triumph."
~ Richard Hugo, “In Defense of Creative-Writing Classes” ~ The Triggering Town: Lectures and Essays on Poetry and Writing (1979) |
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That's me on the right, with W. Joe Hoppe, Austin's "Mopar Poet."
Creative Writing Workshops
The Street Lit Authors Club offers free creative writing workshops at the Poverello Center in Missoula, and in Austin at the Austin Resource Center for the Homeless (the ARCH). We aim for a safe, non-judgmental environment, working with folks on any and all forms of writing, and at any level of expertise. The workshops lend encouragement, foster open expression, and honor the strength of all our stories and imaginations.
Hi. I'm Barry Maxwell, the founder of Street Lit and the Street Lit Authors Club workshops. The project began in 2013 in Austin, growing from a one-off book drive into an ongoing donations hub serving the ARCH and homeless population there. I started the creative writing workshops in June of 2015 and was fully prepared to fail. I had no idea whether anyone would show up, or how long it would last. I'm proud to say that the workshop thrived from the first day, and even after my move to Missoula to join the MFA cohort at UM, the Austin group is still going strong under the gifted guidance of my friends Tony Nuñez and Phil Force. (The duo has a great site running for the group at http://streetlitauthors.org/. Give them a visit and get in touch there for donations in Austin.)
The workshop in Missoula is still young. The first was in early May of 2018, and I'm happy to report that the group is growing steadily. A core of regulars are bringing their writing projects to the table, and the word is spreading. New folks drop in out of curiosity (or for the coffee) and then come back for the writerly conversation, the chance to share their own words, and to join in the discussion of others' work. As it was back in Austin, I walked in braced for failure, and found instead a community waiting for way to connect. I couldn't be more thrilled with the progress we’ve made so far.
The Street Lit Authors Club offers free creative writing workshops at the Poverello Center in Missoula, and in Austin at the Austin Resource Center for the Homeless (the ARCH). We aim for a safe, non-judgmental environment, working with folks on any and all forms of writing, and at any level of expertise. The workshops lend encouragement, foster open expression, and honor the strength of all our stories and imaginations.
Hi. I'm Barry Maxwell, the founder of Street Lit and the Street Lit Authors Club workshops. The project began in 2013 in Austin, growing from a one-off book drive into an ongoing donations hub serving the ARCH and homeless population there. I started the creative writing workshops in June of 2015 and was fully prepared to fail. I had no idea whether anyone would show up, or how long it would last. I'm proud to say that the workshop thrived from the first day, and even after my move to Missoula to join the MFA cohort at UM, the Austin group is still going strong under the gifted guidance of my friends Tony Nuñez and Phil Force. (The duo has a great site running for the group at http://streetlitauthors.org/. Give them a visit and get in touch there for donations in Austin.)
The workshop in Missoula is still young. The first was in early May of 2018, and I'm happy to report that the group is growing steadily. A core of regulars are bringing their writing projects to the table, and the word is spreading. New folks drop in out of curiosity (or for the coffee) and then come back for the writerly conversation, the chance to share their own words, and to join in the discussion of others' work. As it was back in Austin, I walked in braced for failure, and found instead a community waiting for way to connect. I couldn't be more thrilled with the progress we’ve made so far.
We’ve enjoyed a warm response from the press, both locally and in the wider literary world. If you’d like to look further into Street Lit’s origins and daily reality, please give a read to our friends and supporters:
- "MFA writer Barry Maxwell takes literature to the street" in Missoula's The Independent (July 26, 2018) by Susan Elizabeth Shepard
- "Picking up the Pen: Writing group offers escape and expression for Austin's homeless." The Austin American-Statesman (July 31, 2016) Article and photos by Roberto Roldan
- "How Books Are Helping Austin’s Homeless Community Street Lit: Finding Hope Through Literature" Literary Hub (May 16, 2016) By Michele Filgate
- And wow--we were chosen by the Austin Chronicle as a 2016 “Best Life Changer.” What an honor!
- "Using Literature As A Force For Good Among Austin's Homeless Population" Citylab.Com from The Atlantic (June 8, 2016) By Eillie Anzilotti. Photos by Ian Marcotte and Lavonne Roberts
- "UT English Department Holding Book Drive For English Junior Barry Maxwell’s Organization, Street Lit" The UT Department Of English (November 4, 2015) By Natalie Sharpe
- "Formerly Homeless UT Student Leads Creative Writing Workshop Street Lit For Austin’s Homeless" The Daily Texan (August 26, 2015) By Katie Walsh. Photo by Rachel Zien
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You can help. Please pitch in!
Monetary donations flow through our GoFundMe campaign. Look for the donations button, or click right here to help us out. And don't be shy about telling all your friends. If you have any questions, by all means ask. Our Amazon Wish List: If you'd prefer to help out with specific items, take a look at our wish list. The texts are top notch for our purposes, and the supplies listed are constant needs. |
