Generations Writing Project


As part of the Generations Initiative, MCHE will host guided writing groups for our Second and Third and Fourth Generations as part of our inaugural cohort of the Generations Writing Project.

This community project is a chance to put down in writing your experiences and memories with the survivors in your family, and to reflect on the ways the legacy of the Holocaust has shaped your own experiences.  Over the course of six in-person writing sessions, each of you will have the opportunity to produce, revise, and complete a short work (or a few smaller pieces) of writing. Please be prepared to dedicate some time to writing and/or revising between sessions. Personal narratives, memoirs, poetry, essays, or other kinds of writing media are welcome.

In group sessions, you will participate in guided writing exercises, share and reflect on your work as a community, and find space to sit, write, and remember together. We will read and discuss some of the ways other 2Gs, 3Gs, and 4Gs have memorialized their experiences and work through some basic activities meant to prompt your own voice as a writer. No one will be required to share their work in order to participate and no prior experience with creative writing is necessary.

This writing opportunity is open to any adult child, grandchild, or great-grandchild of a survivor who is interested in joining a writing community to explore their memories. You must be at least 18 years old in order to participate in the writing project. A group of the Second Generation will meet separately from the Third and Fourth. If groups do not meet minimum enrollment of 5 participants, they may instead meet together. Registration (at the bottom of the page) is required and will stay open until full or until January 9, 2026.

Schedule:
Each group will meet six times between mid-January and the end of March 2026. Sessions will be held in person at the Jewish Community Center, room to be confirmed after registration. We will meet weekly for the first two weeks, and then biweekly starting in February.
Second Generation Meetings – Tuesdays 6:30-8pm
January 13, 20; February 3, 17; March 3, 17
Third and Fourth Generation Meetings – Wednesdays 6:30-8pm
January 21, 28; February 11, 25; March 11, 25

If you are interested in participating in the writing project but cannot make this meeting schedule, please reach out to melissak@mchekc.org.

Supplies:
Please bring a notepad and pen or pencil, as well as technology for whatever writing method is most comfortable for you (laptop, tablet, etc.). Please make sure devices are fully charged and bring a charger with you.


At the end of the project, you may have the option to contribute your writings to a published collection through MCHE.


The Generations Writing Project will be led by MCHE’s Dr. Melissa Karp, who recently received her Ph.D. in Literature from Duke University. Please direct any questions, or interest in a joining a future cohort of the writing project to melissak@mchekc.org.

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