Kirsten Alers
Lecturer in Biographical Writing
"We can thus understand how we have become the person we are now"
Ms. Alers, inheritance can be a house, jewelry, or stock. But it can also be things that are primarily of emotional value, such as personal records?
Yes, many people who come to my writing workshops have the primary need to write autobiographically in order to look at their lives again and in this way to leave something behind. They want to bequeath a kind of intangible inheritance to their descendants, their children and grandchildren, a very personal life review. They not only want to pass on their wealth, but also their thoughts and experiences. The autobiographical writing is a very intensive preoccupation with oneself. It is a possibility to write pain and sadness from the soul, to understand the past, to deal with difficult topics. We can thus understand how we became the person we are now. And many would like to share these insights with those who mean something to them. Often the motives shift again in the course of the process. People then use writing and self-reflection more intensively for personal growth and maturation. Others write as a relief when they have experienced bad things. The recordings are then a way to look at what has happened again in peace, to process it, perhaps to heal it ...
You can find the full interview with Kirsten Alers in our book:
To person
Kirsten Alers (born 1960) is a qualified pedagogue, literacy manager and practicing writing pedagogue since 1993. She is a member of the board of the Segeberger Kreis (Society for Creative Writing eV), wortwechsel-kaufungen.de
Books:
"Are we writing!" (Schneider Hohengehren)
This writing group pedagogy explores the question of what writing in groups is and what benefits are shown when people write in groups. From the history of writing in groups to the description of the writing process and exercises. A specialist book for instructors.