A six-week reading & writing circle on voice.
Join the circle ↓Six weeks of reading together, writing together, and unlearning the idea that your voice is a problem to fix. The canon is the one taught in university classrooms for a decade: James Baldwin’s question — if Black English isn’t a language, then tell me, what is? — Joanne Kilgour Dowdy’s “Ovuh Dyuh,” Patricia Smith at full volume, John McWhorter on how language actually changes, and the scholarship of African American Language.
Each session pairs a reading conversation with a writing practice, and the circle ends with each participant writing and sharing a declaration of linguistic self-determination. This is the brand-defining offering of the Learning Studio — priced as a mission choice, run because it is the point.
| Wk 1 | The Languages You Already Have | Opening circle; community agreements; the linguistic autobiography. |
| Wk 2 | Baldwin’s Question | Close reading of the 1979 essay; what a language does vs. what it is “allowed” to be. |
| Wk 3 | Ovuh Dyuh | Dowdy and The Skin We Speak; writing practice: the room where you change your voice. |
| Wk 4 | The Snobbery Machine | McWhorter on language change; what “correct” is for — and when to wield it. |
| Wk 5 | Poems & Performance | Patricia Smith; persona; reading aloud; writing in your fullest register. |
| Wk 6 | The Declaration | Closing circle; your declaration of linguistic self-determination; where to keep practicing. |
| Sliding-scale seat | Self-selected — you pick the rate that reflects your capacity | $150 / $250 / $350 |
| Sponsored circle | An organization sponsors a full twelve-seat circle for its community | $3,600 |
Pick the rate that reflects your capacity. No documentation, no justification, ever. If you’re unsure which tier fits, we’ll talk it through privately.