As part of the ReggieCon Live 2024 theme “Ruins, Reflections, Creations, and Dreams,” the English Department at Illinois State University will sponsor two creative writing workshops led by creative writers who are part of the English Studies doctoral program. On Saturday, April 27, from 5-6 p.m., the English Department will sponsor the session titled Apocalyptic Reimaginings: A Generative Flash Fiction Experiment.
Flash fiction is a genre of writing characterized by its extreme brevity, typically consisting of stories. It demands a sharp, incisive style where every word is carefully chosen to convey meaning and evoke emotion. This form requires writers to distill their narratives down to their purest essence, making every sentence, every detail, and every character count. When applied to apocalyptic futures, flash fiction serves as a powerful medium to explore such vast and complex themes within a condensed format. In the context of apocalyptic scenarios—be it due to climate disasters, nuclear fallout, pandemics, or other dystopian triggers—flash fiction focuses on small, poignant moments that capture the human experience.
These stories often reflect the immediacy and intensity of their settings, delivering snapshots of life at the brink of collapse or transformation. This brevity allows readers to glimpse into the intimate, often overlooked corners of existence in times of catastrophic change. It can highlight the resilience of humanity, the fragility of our societies, or the eerie calm in the midst of chaos. Flash fiction, with its quick narrative arcs and sudden endings, parallels the suddenness with which apocalyptic events can reshape reality, making it an ideal form to challenge readers’ perceptions and leave them pondering the profound impacts of such hypothetical futures.
Therefore, this session opens its doors with the statement, “The world may be on fire, but so are our pages—how might you write the apocalypse in all its futurity and potential? Envisioning apocalypses that will eradicate oppression, “Apocalyptic Reimaginings” is meant to be a space for experimenting with and generating flash fiction that de- and re- constructs the world through any number of transformative lenses, including but not limited to any or any combination of the following: feminism, anti-racism, queer theory, trans theory, indigenous studies, disability studies, sustainability/environmentalism, and more (pick your antidote(s), we’ve already been poisoned). Come join us and create and discuss your own piece of flash fiction—your own apocalyptic reimagining.”
We will have creative writers such as Audrey Heffers, Janine Blue, Alicia Shupe, Ulysses Bougie, Sheilla Nelson, Edcel J. Cintron-Gonzalez, Cynthia Nwakudu, Emily Fontenot, and Charley Koenig.
This and all the English Department sponsored panels will be held in the Circus Room at the Bone Student Center from 4-9 p.m. on Saturday, April 27, 2024.
Visit the ReggieCon Live! 2024 website for more information.
