Rewriting homeless identity : writing as coping in an urban homeless community / by Jeremy S. Godfrey.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Godfrey, Jeremy S., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Homeless persons' writings, American--History and criticism.

Homeless persons' writings, American.

Authorship--Psychological aspects.

Authorship.

Marginality, Social, in literature.

Homeless persons as artists.

Genre:

Criticism, interpretation, etc.

Physical Description:

xxiii, 151 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Lanham, Maryland : Lexington Books, 2015.

Summary:

Rewriting Homeless Identity: Writing as Coping in an Urban Homeless Community focuses on the identities of homeless writers, with initially limited or no specialized training in writing, at a homeless community church. During an ethnographic, two-year study, author Jeremy Godfrey hosted and participated in weekly writing workshops. He also participated in the founding of a street newspaper within that community. This book shows Godfrey's experiences in leading writing workshops and how they promoted self-exploration within this community. Students of the workshop negotiated their unique, individual writing personas during the study. Those personas were often coping with their experiences on the streets. More importantly, the writers viewed those experiences as central to their writing processes. Much like the setting of the workshop at an urban, non-denominational, community church, the writers honed their coping tactics through conversational and performance-driven writings. Rewriting Homeless Identity highlights those writing samples and the conversations with homeless authors of the samples in relation to identity and a sense of growth. Book jacket.

Contents:

Identification through participation

Survey of U.S. street paper discourse

Discourse analysis of an SNP phenomenon

Public writing and private context

Coping as life motivation

Other examples of coping

Appendix: Transcribed interviews with some writers of the workshop and overlook.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780739190357

0739190350

OCLC:

920017684