BLAISE ALLYSEN KEARSLEY
Hello, it's me. I know the name looks complicated. I would like to help you with that:
My first name is pronounced BLAZE, my middle name is just ALISON, but with some
different letters, and my last name sounds like KEY-ERS-LEE.
That's it for this first section of my website. It's been pretty demanding already.
[ bio
Blaise Allysen Kearsley is a New York-based Black-biracial writer and teacher and the creator, producer, and host of How I Learned*, a long-running storytelling / comedy / reading series. She is a contributing editor at Vestal Review, the oldest flash fiction journal on the planet.
Her nonfiction writing has appeared in Catapult, Longreads, Memoir Land, VICE, The Boston Globe, Midnight Breakfast, Electric Literature's The Nervous Breakdown, Oldster, Elle.com, and four anthologies—Nonwhite and Woman, PEREGRINE, Cringe, and Mortified: Real Words. Real People. Real Pathetic.. She has written for several magazines and online outlets dating back to 2001 that are perhaps not worth mentioning by name and probably don't even exist anymore.
As a storyteller she has performed at The Moth, Risk, Literary Death Match, Mortified, The Gotham Storytelling Festival, and at various venues that serve booze and sometimes snacks. In another life, she took a lot of pictures with actual cameras, and some of those pictures were published in places like New York Magazine, Gawker, Playbill, The Morning News, JPG Magazine, and Nerve.
She has been mentoring writers since 2016 and has developed in-person, synchronous, and text-based multi-week workshops, webinars, and intensives for creative communities across the country. She lives in Brooklyn but if you need her for something somewhere else, maybe she'll go there.
[ select writing
🜃 The Story of My Father's Hands |Memoir Land, 2023; originally published in Catapult
🜃 Words to Call a Sweater | PEREGRINE, Yellow Arrow Journal, Vol. VII, No. 2, 2022
🜃 A Jet All The Way |Oldster Magazine, 2022
🜃 The First Time It Happened | Nonwhite and Woman, Woodhall Press, 2022
🜃 Finding Oneself in 'Surviving the White Gaze' | The Boston Globe, 2021
🜃 Why Mr. Bauer Didn't Like Me | Longreads, 2019
[ classes + consulting
My aim as a writing coach and instructor is to foster the growth of an inclusive network of aspiring and emerging creative nonfiction writers by challenging them to consider new approaches to the work while sharpening existing tools; to write from a place of investigative curiosity, courage, and artistic intuition; to solve literary problems, crack narratives wide open and discover, or rediscover, the stories begging to be told.
Getting published needn't be the end goal for every writer or project, but I'd be remiss not to mention that some wonderful work by current and former students has appeared in Modern Love, HuffPost, Blavity, The New York Times, The New Yorker, Narratively, Bright Flash Literary Review, McSweeney's, Elle.com, Rolling Stone, HuffPo, Lenny Letter, The Lunch Ticket, Dame Magazine, Manifest Station, Refinery29, Texas Monthly, and 11th Street Journal, while chapbooks and memoirs have been published or are forthcoming from Bottlecap Presss, Simon & Schuster, and Viking.
1The Art of Personal Essay Writing (Virtual)
6 weeks. Tuesdays, April 9th - May 14th, 7:00 - 9:30 pm ET; Limited to 10 people.
You know the stories you want to tell. But how will you tell them? What makes well-crafted essays and why are yours worth reading? How do you follow through skillfully on ideas?
In this workshop we'll explore the art and craft of the personal essay and its lyrical shapes. We'll experiment with researched, collage, braided, micro, crab,
and other essay forms to expand and deepen your writing practice and find the structure that best serves what you want to say.We'll consider essays from an inclusive selection of writers such as Saachi Koul, Henry Louis Gates, Maggie Nelson, Alexander Chee, Jesús Colón, David Sedaris, Emily Bernard, Annie Dillard, and Abigail Thomas.
$395
Sponsored by Writing Workshops:
2In Person
Advanced Creative Nonfiction Workshop (Brooklyn, NY)
8 weeks. Thursdays, April 18th - June 13th*, 7:00 - 10:00 pm. Limited to 7 writers by invite, referral, or application.
*No class on May 2nd. Virtual class on May 30th.
This is an IRL workshop for advanced and emerging writers who have worked with me previously. New writers may be eligible by invite or application.
We'll read published pieces, have wide-ranging discussions based on the needs of the group. We'll write together—sitting around a table IN PERSON!
You'll generate a ton of work in class through prompts, sharing, and instant feedback. Plus, everyone will have at least three opportunities to submit work for more extensive feedback. A visit from a special guest is TBA.
$500 / $450 for returning writers.
Sliding scale for marginalized + underrepresented voices. Payment plans + low-cost options for financial hardship are available.
3Sudden Truths: Writing Flash Memoir + Super-Short Personal Essay (Virtual)
6 weeks. Wednesdays,
May 15th - June 26th*, 6:30 - 9:00 pm ET. Limited to 10 writers.
*No class on June 5th.
What is the purpose of a micro-story? How do you craft something interesting with a beginning,
middle, and end, all in 150-1000 words?We'll explore the craft of flash memoir and personal essay and the ways in which the super-short form can
enhance our writing practice, improve our skills, and contextualize our truths. We'll experiment with word counts, generate ideas through in-class writing, and discuss language, structure, pacing, narrative thread, the revision process, and more.
A diverse selection of readings will include work by Bhante Sumano, Roxane Gay, Jenny Boully, Sam Kiss, Deesha Philyaw, and Sonja Livingston.
Participants will share their work and receive constructive feedback.$395
Sponsored by Writing Workshops:
41:1 Consulting
(Remote or in Brooklyn, NY)
Get individual attention, personalized creative direction and guidance for books, essays, and pieces to pitch for publication.
We'll identify your goals and you'll receive thorough critical feedback to manifest your intention. In the universally perpetual quest for accountability and momentum, signing up for 3 sessions at a time is recommended, but tailoring the mentorship for each individual is first and foremost.Cost is on an individual basis. Sliding scale for marginalized + underrepresented voices. Payment plans + low-cost options for financial hardship are available.
[ things people say
"Blaise's class made me a stronger writer.
It was the hardest workshop I've ever done, but also one of the most important."
— Jennifer Stewart
"I've taken several workshops over the years, all over the country, and this was by far the best. Blaise is a goddamn treasure."
— Memoir workshop participant
"Blaise believed in me and my writing and showed me how I, too, can believe in myself and my writing. The level of care she provides for her students is unparalleled."
— Tiffany Yo
"I love that the readings center BIPOC, women, and LGBTQ voices. That has been an important and edifying element."
— Kimberly Balsam
"Blaise was really able to build a community on Zoom. This is an incredibly difficult thing to do, and she made it seem so easy."
— Memoir workshop participant
"Submitting something for publication was one of my goals and that gave me the push I needed to hit the 'send' button. In addition, everything this group taught me about specificity, vulnerability and vivid storytelling made a huge difference. I'm so thankful for our eight weeks together."
— Genevieve (Gwen) Kingston
"This is a fantastic format. The small class size ensures everyone gets ample time and submission opportunities. It is so useful to see what questions come up with multiple readers. It's like a tiny focus group for pinpointing the areas of my writing that need further development."
— Creative nonfiction workshop participant
"Blaise is such a skilled reader and editor, and her notes are always valuable. She offers wonderful perspectives and assembles groups of writers with keen perspectives of their own. Highly recommend."
— Creative nonfiction workshop participant
"Deadlines do wonders for circumventing procrastination. Nothing sharpens the mind like presenting personal work to a great, vetted group of writers."
— Ravi Kroesen
"What Blaise does is so specific and special.
You can't find it in other workshops."
— Jennifer Stewart
"This class has been water in the desert for me."
— Mary Robertson
"Taking your class on literary nonfiction and receiving your feedback provided value beyond what I could have imagined. See? You can teach an old writer new tricks."
— Dan Fogel
"If you're looking for a more tailored workshop experience, this is the place."
— Flash nonfiction workshop participant
" 1.) Your exuberance and contagious laughter made everyone feel more open. 2.) My God, revising is your superpower. The before and after is astonishing and I might frame a page or two. I will take anything of yours I can get a spot for."
— Robert Bond, Jr.
"I feel so inspired, enriched, encouraged, and empowered in my writing practice. I've been sitting at my desk since we all logged off just feeling how full of gratitude my heart is—for you, the workshop, and the entire group."
— Adaeze Elechi
"Right after the first class I started paying closer attention to how writers had created characters and how their desires moved stories forward in shows I was watching and novels I was reading. It made me more mindful of the intentionality behind works I like, which will crystalize even more when I write. The writing samples were all new to me and amazing. I’ve reordered my reading list accordingly. I didn’t think I would like the in-class writing exercises but I did. I really liked the time constraints and how they forced me to write from the gut."
— Two-day intensive participant
"I genuinely looked forward to each week. The advice you gave sent me back out into the world with confidence and purpose."
— Creative writing workshop participant
"I want to thank you for not only helping me improve my writing but for the confidence
and practical knowledge I got from your classes to polish and submit my work. Your feedback and mentorship have meant so much to me."
— Creative nonfiction workshop participant
"You treat every question with such a genuine desire to give the best possible answer. For someone like me, that means the world."
— Creative nonfiction workshop participant
"Thank you for creating this generous space
for us to try new things and be vulnerable, for the insightful feedback, and for leading us through the last 8 weeks. I'm really grateful."
— Alex Fendrich
"I had to show up for myself and others who counted on me, even when I felt like all I wanted to do was hide under my couch. Being part of this creative group of writers saved me."
— Anna Grundström
"What a pleasure it has been to work with you. You're truly the best, and thank you so much for finding time to work with me."
— Jennifer Taylor-Skinner
[ silent virtual write-in
Come through for a free two-and-a-half-hour writing block (and sometimes longer). No prompts. No sharing. Just creative energy, accountability, and good vibes. It's like study hall, but better. Pop in for part of the time or stay for the whole thing. Sign up to get notified.
*[ how i learned
HOW I LEARNED is a live reading / storytelling / comedy series that was born on the Lower East Side in 2009. Guests have included Ayo Edebiri, Janelle James, Aparna Nancherla, Alexander Chee, Anna Sale, Nick Flynn, Joel Kim Booster, Nore Davis, Dodai Stewart, Broad City, Jo Firestone, Jami Attenberg, Alex English, Marie Faustin, Mike Doughty, Chloe Caldwell, Ophira Eisenberg, Isaac Fitzgerald, Mira Jacob, Rakesh Satyal, Lizz Winstead, Taylor Negron, Sasheer Zamata, Isaac Oliver, Mike Albo, Phoebe Robinson, Choire Sicha, Dan Kennedy, Rob Sheffield, Rosie Schaap, David Crabb, Kevin Allison, and many, many, many, many, many more.
~
Named one of "Five Best Comedy Shows Hosted By Women" by CBS New York and one of the Best Storytelling Series and Best Reading Series by Time Out New York.
"Hostess Blaise Allysen Kearsley makes sure to keep it awkwardly funny." -CBS New York
"...Always hilarious, sometimes touching, and without fail entertaining." -Brooklyn Magazine
"This show has renewed my faith in this whole storytelling endeavor and what it means in the world." -David Crabb, Host of The Moth
"Blaise Allysen Kearsley is a charming host with an irrepressible, humming little laugh that seems to be a compromise she’s made with some wicked guffaw within." -LitWrap[ get in touch
Use the form below or email thisisblaise@gmail.com.
Top photo: Adam Paul Verity
How I Learned photos: Jesse Chan-Norris + Jon Boulier
Logo: Andy Ross Creative
© 2024 Bazima Productions