The premise of Gifts of the Spirit: Automatic Writing is Athey's own questioning of whether an ecstatic experience can be constructed in a secular environment. Drawing on his own Pentacostal childhood, and the ability to speak in tongues, he laments that he was never able to access the gift of automatic writing. In this workshop, Athey works closely with participants to explore writing from the subconscious, following the cut-up techniques of William Burroughs and Bryon Gysin, to create a collective writing “machine.” The workshop will take place over 5 days, culminating in a public performance.

Jul 23–27, 2013

Automatic Writing Workshop

Saturday, Jul 27, 9pm

Ron Athey, Gifts of the Spirit: Automatic Writing

Public performance