The Wistariahurst Museum in Holyoke is now offering a new program, a creative writing course focused on women’s experiences to show what their museum has to offer to the community.

The course, which began on January 17, 2017, will run until June with two sessions being held per month on Tuesdays from 2:00 pm – 3:30pm.

The course is facilitated by Angela Sweeney M. Ed., a former Holyoke High School English/Creative Writing teacher and Drama Club advisor, who is currently teaching English and Film at Western New England University. Ms. Sweeney offered her services to the museum as a way of getting back to her community and teaching here again.

“I want people to get a good understanding of how gender influences experience and why that is important in writing,” said Ms. Sweeney when asked about what she hopes people will gain from attending the program. “Especially because a lot of classes about books and literature are about men. I think, you know, we deserve to be exposed equally to women writers and writing about women.”

The course focuses on women’s experiences and it provides people who enjoy reading and writing an opportunity to strengthen their skills in the English language while also having the chance to be in a place where they can collaborate with other writers.

“It’s a great opportunity to work with other writers from the area with varying experience levels,” said Sarah Healy ’17, a Holyoke High students currently taking the course. “We discuss and write about topics that really interest me and I feel that it has helped me grow as a writer.”