Elizabeth Santiago
Instructor Statement
"Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison once said, 'Make up a story. Narrative is radical, creating us at the very moment it is being created.' Writing for me is re-creation and liberation. It’s also a lot of work! It’s the kind of work that nourishes and confounds. At best it makes you feel flow and you become lost in your characters and the challenges they are navigating. At worst it makes you question yourself and the validity of your stories. This is why working in community with others and having champions through your writing process is vital. Your stories do matter, and they need to be told. My greatest strength as a teacher and facilitator is my deep desire to see others succeed and achieve whatever goals they set for themselves. Along with that, I present and push in areas of craft like building a story structure and shape as a foundation to grow your work, focusing on character, characterization, setting, dialogue, and pacing, and getting much needed feedback on your approach and process. We’ll explore and learn together as we support each other in an inclusive environment that welcomes all stories and storytellers."
About the Instructor
Elizabeth Santiago earned a BFA in Creative Writing from Emerson College and a Master’s degree in Education from Harvard University. She taught writing and literacy courses for many years before deciding to take her passion for storytelling to the next level. She completed a PhD program at Lesley University focused on creative writing for literacy acquisition and liberation. As a result of that work, two projects emerged. One is a contemporary young adult novel titled, The Moonlit Vine, featuring 14-year-old Taína, descended from a long line of Taíno women who must rise within her own strength to bring peace and justice to her family and her community. The novel will be published by Lee and Low in both English and Spanish in May of 2023. The second project is a website called The Untold Narratives to support all writers, emerging and experienced, in finding and sharing stories that are not typically told due to lack of representation.