THE INNER LOOP WRITING SERIES:

WRITERS-IN-RESIDENCE PROGRAM

 

EMBRACING PLACE, DISCOVERING HISTORY, AND WRITING THE STORIES OF HERE, NOW.

Since 2016, Woodlawn & Pope-Leighey House, in collaboration with Arcadia Farms and the Inner Loop literary series, has hosted a Writers-in-Residence program, encouraging writers to use their work as a means to build community; to bring awareness to critical social and environmental issues; and as a creative force of empowerment.

Writers spend a week at Woodlawn & Pope-Leighey House and Arcadia Farms to explore and put those values to work. Writers are encouraged to explore themes related to the history of Woodlawn including:

  • Documenting, humanizing, and presenting histories of enslaved and free Black people at the site

  • Food cultivation and equitable distribution

  • Indigenous histories

  • Well-being and the natural environment

  • Architecture and affordable housing

  • Equality, anti-slavery activities, and Quaker communities

The Inner Loop is a literary reading series and network for creative writers in the Washington, D.C. metro area. They aim to create a space for both emerging and established writers to connect with their community, and to transform the written word into a shared experience through the act of reading aloud. Founded in 2014, the organization is driven by a love of writing, by the joy of hearing people read their work, and by a desire to make the work of local writers more accessible to their community. They strive to create a space where people gather to experience the short stories, the memoirs, the poems, the essays, and most especially, the writers themselves.

Meet our 2024 Summer Writers in Residence

Hear from the 2024 Writers in Residence
Amanda Borquaye
Charlotte Van Schaack
Hannah Finnie