A new class is allowing New York City seniors to tap into their inner writer.
Led by Patricia Bischof, author of her memoir “Memoir of a 2G: Story of Secrecy and Resilience,” the class aims to give seniors that attend The Encore West Residence & Lifelong Learning Center, located at 755 10th Ave., the chance to learn how to chronicle their experiences through writing a memoir.
“I had written a memoir that took me nine years, it was my first venture in writing,” said Bischof. “I felt that I had that new term value where I had this experience where I can pass this on to the older adults [that are] members of an organization.”
This class is among The Encore West Residence & Lifelong Learning Center’s many programming options for seniors, ensuring that older adults can continue to thrive.
In each class, Bischof, who has a background in teaching, goes over the fundamentals of writing using her own experiences in self-publishing to help guide the conversation, including using a computer or notebook to get started, finding a quiet place to write, and not being judgmental or critical of yourself. She previously taught this class at the learning center back in May, and she was intrigued to see how everyone’s different backgrounds inform their experiences and writing.
“That makes it exciting and at the same time interesting because in some cultures, they don’t want to talk. It’s not that they don’t, they’re not brought up to talk or brag or talk about themselves,” said Bischof. “I sit there with a pencil and paper, talk to them and give them different modes of information.”
Bischof’s next class begins in July, taking place on Wednesdays at 1:45 p.m. Bischof hopes that those who take the class will be able to embrace writing without fear.
“As an adult, we have more maturity than as a child, as a teenager or a young adult. I find it interesting how maybe there’s some shyness or trepidation or fear [about writing],” said Bischof. “It’s a beautiful process to see how someone will take the initiative or take the risk of writing. It takes maturity, it takes trust, and that’s how we end up doing either art or writing.”
For more information, visit encorenyc.org.
