The Power of Creativity (and Creative Writing) in a Time of Crisis

Guest Blogger: Cynthia Larsen, Co-Founder of Lake Erie Ink- A Creative Writing Space for Youth

How can we not be creative during a time of crisis? Whether we see “the current situation” as a health care crisis, an economic crisis, a crisis of educational equity or racism and police brutality, our response to the crisis is to brainstorm solutions. We ask: how can we teach during shelter at home? How can we protest and maintain social distance? How can we help our isolated children and elders stay safe and content? How can we be allies? How can we protect our families?

 My name is Cynthia Larsen and for ten years I have worked at Lake Erie Ink: a writing space for youth. Our mission is to provide creative expression opportunities and academic support to youth in the greater Cleveland community. We believe in the transformative power of creative expression, and the voices of youth are at the center of what we do. Using your voice--your words--is the foundation of good citizenship.  Finding your voice requires trust in yourself and your stories. 

 I actually want to start with the relationship between the imagination and creativity. To imagine something is to form an image in your mind of things that are not present. Creativity uses the imagination to act or make. During a time of crisis, our imaginations are essential to our decision making.  Imagination allows us to consider the what-ifs.  What if we ignore the recommendations designed to keep us safe? What if we were born into a different skin or home? When my husband says, “I’m not going to get sick,” I see it as a fundamental lack of imagination. When I expect Black Lives Matter protesters to behave as I (a white woman) would during a protest, that’s a fundamental lack of imagination. Without imagination we can’t find our empathy. Children discover their imagination as soon as they begin talking, but adults tend to devalue this amazing tool. Imagination is where creative thinking and problem solving, as well as creative expression (art) begin.

 So, for adults, first we need to remember how to imagine. One of my writing and teaching role models, Lynda Barry--who recently received the MacArthur “Genius” Award, believes that memory and image are the keys to unlocking creativity. She studies preschool children to try to explore how creativity works and what happens as children move from drawing to writing. I attended one of her “Writing the Unthinkable” workshops years ago, and, like everyone else in the room, fell under her spell as she yanked us out of our adult minds and pulled us back into our creative child brains, where we remembered how to write, draw and play with our imaginations without judgment. She prompted us to dig up old memories, then populate those memories with sensory details, and finally, write them in a sprint, without looking back. This was writing for the self, rather than for an audience (because writing for an audience gives most adults stage fright ). Lynda discouraged us from re-reading our work for at least a week. She told me, when I described my struggle to finish a frequently revised but unfinished novel, that I should start over and write from the beginning to the end, by hand, no less. “Finish the gesture,” she urged me. You can experience her guided writing process on youtube. For adults seeking a way back to their creative selves, there is no better guide.

 Lynda also gave us envelopes full of pictures and asked us to create stories from those pictures. This is something we do frequently at Lake Erie Ink. Writing in response to art or images is called ekphrastic writing. We believe that this type of writing can also build empathy with the subject of the art or photograph. I describe this activity with caution. While it is essential when building empathy to imagine what “the other” in the photograph is experiencing, writing as if you are “the other” when you are not--when you are (maybe), just some white lady who likes to write--is appropriative and wrong. Still, I would ask you to consider this exercise. When you view images of people caught in the midst of one of our many crises, try what this fourth grade student did when viewing a photo of a crowd of children contained within a barbed wire fence.  Ask questions and try to imagine the answers. Then take action. Here is her poem:

 Why?

 Where are you from?

What happened?

Who are you?

Why are you here?

What year is it?

Did you do something bad?

How old are you?

How long have you been here?

 Where are you from?

Should I help?

I’ll get you out.

There’s no reason for this.

They took you away.

I’m so sorry for what happened.

I’ll be right back.

CLANG CLANG CRASH

You’re free!  Be free!

  By Ananda

 Notice how Ananda moves from questioning, to empathy, to action. This is, I think, how we move from imagination to creativity, from brainstorm to solution. 

 These are some of the benefits of creative thinking and writing. If we can imagine and explore the what-ifs, if we can use our imagination to empathize with others, we can create both art and solutions.  Creative writing can be therapy, it can be prayer, it can be reflection, and it can be escape.  Even if you are only writing for yourself, your voice becomes larger and more powerful as you allow your memories and the images in your mind to come to the surface. Focus on the sensory details of an experience before you focus on the emotions, before you begin to generalize. (Sometimes our emotional or analytical voice is louder than our actual experience.) We should look inwards before we send our words out into the world.  Keep a notebook just for yourself. First be Emily Dickinson. Sit in quiet and work it out for yourself. Later you can be Maya Angelou and put it out into the universe.

 For children, the benefits are the same. Teaching children how to express themselves creatively teaches them how to participate in their communities. Youth from our workshops share that they learn “how not to be afraid to speak out how you feel.”  They note that, “It helps you with your thinking,” and, “It helped me get something off my chest,” and “It teaches you things you don’t know about yourself.” They recognize that it builds their confidence and self-esteem, but they also say, “it can help a lot of people.” One student who participated in our first online creative writing workshops wrote, “I get to use something that was in my mind for something finally.”

 I would add that for all of us, especially during this time of crisis, it’s as important to listen to other people’s stories as it  is to tell our own stories.  In her TED talk, “The Danger of a Single Story,” Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie reminds us that “Stories matter. Many stories matter. Stories have been used to dispossess and to malign, but stories can also be used to empower and to humanize. Stories can break the dignity of a people, but stories can also repair that broken dignity.” 

 Before closing, I’d like to share some resources for adults and children during the current situation. One of my new favorites, StoryCorpsConnect, allows one person to interview another even if they are in different places (as long as they have internet). This is a great way to connect with friends and family who are far away. StoryCorps has lots of resources to teach you how to create a great interview. For those who are able to be together, there is also a StoryCorps app for your phone.  

 Another new favorite, the PBS website American Portraits, is a National Storytelling Project that provides you with easy prompts and several ways to share your story.  

 If you like poetry, reading a poem may inspire you to write your own, so check out Split this Rock’s website for poetry of social justice, Button Poetry,  The Poetry Foundation and poets.org. For kids, these last two have great sections for children, and also Poetry4Kids and Poetry for Children.  

 Locally, check out the offerings at Literary Cleveland, Twelve Literary Arts, and of course, Lake Erie Ink: a writing space for youth.