Workshops
I have over ten years of experience teaching higher education and running political education and creative writing workshops. I am an adaptive workshop leader who always leaves room for interaction and creative activity. Here are examples of workshops I’ve recently facilitated and co-facilitated:
Radical Activism & Zines: Zine-makers in a CSU Fullerton service learning class received a short overview of zines in history, starting with the Harlem Renaissance and into the AIDS crisis and ACT UP movement. They then created a zine together.
Pinkwashing & Palestinian liberation: Participants learned about pinkwashing and its relation to the occupation in Palestine, and how queer liberation is inextricably tied to Palestinian liberation.
Speculative Futures: Creative writers in a UCSB English class wrote through a series of prompts to imagine a conversation with a future ancestor.
Short Comics: Creative writers designed and illustrated “self-care” comics as a reminder to tend to their needs and wellness.
“Making Room for All Our Selves”: Queer and trans BIPOC participants, all members of Viet Rainbow of Orange County and Allianza Trans Latinx, were encouraged to consider and make space for all their identities through a series of short prompts.
Introduction to Poetry: Creative thinkers learned about the basics of poetry and created poems together. (I have taught this workshop with organizations such as Khmer Girls in Action and AHRI.)
Testimonials
“T.K. is an amazing facilitator. She does an amazing job of making sure everyone’s input is received and validated. When there are differences of opinion amongst members of the group, she does an amazing job of facilitating the space so that all opinions are heard while also bridging across differences to promote healthy dialogue rather than heated debate. T.K. makes any space feel warm and inviting!”
“T.K. co-facilitated a two-day political education and organizing training I participated in a few years ago. She holds space for others with ease, humor, and intention. What stayed with me most is this moment during a sharing activity where T.K. set the tone by telling her own story of feeling connected to movement by ancestors. The dignity, anger, and love for community she shared resonated in my body and sustained me for a long time after the training was over. She knows instinctively how to move with her own spirit and brings people around her to alive our spirit, too.”
“I have joined a yearly virtual writing circle, created and facilitated by T.K, for the past several years. T.K. always sends a warm, encouraging welcome with ample information and sets the tone for the space. She holds the space for us all month. It’s one of my favourite times of the year to write, share, and read poems to see how we are supporting and influencing one another. T.K. brings people together with so much care and intention and for that reason, I will continue to join as long as this space is run.”
“T.K. Lê is a terrific creative writing workshop facilitator. The way she runs her workshops is so full of consideration and intention, for the craft and even more for the participants of the workshops. Her feedback is specific and at once challenges you to grow while also finding delight in your writing. In the workspace space, T.K. fostered a sense of community and care from the first day.”