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Missions and Manifestos: the artist statement and beyond
$325
Missions and Manifestos is a study of how creative people have declared themselves and their missions for life and work. This goes beyond setting goals. This is big level, Magnum Opus declarations of purpose, and figuring out how the writer’s work will follow those assertions consistently.
This is a course for artists, writers, or any human wanting to better define their purpose in life. We will read historical manifestos as well as contemporary artist statements and look at those artist and writer’s work in the context of their words. Participants will then write their own statements, leaving the class with a long version, a condensed version, and a sense of how their practice will change to follow their stated purpose.
This course will serve both practical functions, for artist’s statements in grant applications, website content, and other places, as well as creative and philosophical functions, for a stronger sense of purpose and clearer sense of self.
In this writing-focused course, attention will be paid to clarity, word choice, tone, and other elements of craft.
Access Program
We want our writing classes to be accessible to everyone, regardless of income and background. We understand that our tuition structure can present obstacles for some people. Our Access Program offers writing class and seminar tuitions at a reduced rate. Most writing classes have at least one access spot available.
Please apply here for access rate tuition. Contact Susan Moore at susan@literary-arts.org if you have questions.

Coleman Stevenson
Coleman Stevenson is the author of Breakfast, The Accidental Rarefication of Pattern #5609, The Dark Exact Tarot Guide, and a book of essays accompanying the card game Metaphysik. Her latest collection of poems is Light Sleeper. Her writing has appeared in a variety of publications such as Seattle Review, Mid-American Review, Louisiana Literature, tarot.com, and the anthology Motionless from the Iron Bridge. In addition to her work as a designer of tarot and oracle decks through her company The Dark Exact, her fine art work, exhibited in galleries around the Pacific Northwest, focuses on the intersections between image and text. She has been a guest curator for various gallery spaces in the Portland, Oregon, area, and has taught poetry, design theory, and cultural studies at a number of different institutions there.