Gifted with a voice that could command an audience in any era, Dorothy Allison treated the participants of the 2011 Summer Workshop to a spirited discussion on how characters should speak on the page. Not only ‘he said, she said, none of them said a thing’, but a whole range of language issues–what is said and not said, dialect and rhythm, pacing, patterns in speech, and most importantly, the language of gesture and avoidance.
Yes, there was a bit of cursing involved in the lecture, but to be cursed at by Dorothy Allison is an experience to be treasured. Trust us, we have firsthand experience.