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 2023 Summer Writers in Residence