In this two hour class, we will discuss the ways writers of color have written about sex and desire while navigating the politics of shame, sexual identity, race, and gender. Taking inspiration from works by Natalie Diaz, Raven Leilani, Lucille Clifton among others, we will dive into freewrites and short writing sprints to make new work or advance the poems and prose pieces we are currently engaged in. There will be time for sharing, however, this is not a critique based session. All genres and writing levels are welcome. This space is made possible by support from the San Francisco Arts Commission.
Participants can sign up either for January 24 or January 31 — both sessions will be the same. Open only to Rooted and Written Alumni who self-identify as women, trans and non-binary writers. Not open to current Grotto members. Successful applicants will be informed in a separate email confirming their registration.
Preeti Vangani is an Indian poet & writer based in San Francisco. She is the author of Mother Tongue Apologize (2019) and Fifty Mothers, forthcoming from River River Books (Feb 2026). Her work has been published in AGNI, The Georgia Review, Gulf Coast, Prairie Schooner among other places. Her debut short story won the 2021 Pen/Dau Emerging Writers Prize.Vangani has been a resident at UCross, Djerassi and Ragdale. She holds an MFA in Writing from University of San Francisco and currently teaches in the program.