· Catamount Arts
560 Railroad Community Artist and Vermont Studio Center alum Lori Lee will host several community engagement events in September and October as part of her upcoming St. Johnsbury artist residency. Her workshops invite community members to explore the many ways in which we craft and use narrative, including story therapy, memoir, poetry, podcasting, and folkore.
Story Therapy will take place at Catamount Arts, on September 19th, from 10-11:30. Adults are invited to explore the importance of reframing victim stories with meaning and purpose. This workshop is an excellent opportunity to share and work on stories for Umbrella’s Stories of Recovery and Resilience event on October 2nd.
Mapping a Life: Memoir will take place at Catamount Arts, on September 20th, from 1-2:30pm. Adults are invited to create a lifetime story map that prioritizes emotional accuracy over geographical accuracy in order to discover the stories they most want to tell.
Poetry Hidden in Memory will take place at Tunnel Books, on September 24th, at 6pm. Adults and high school students are invited to an exploration of free verse and narrative poetry. Participants are encouraged to bring a photo they wish to capture in poetry.
Folklore of Home: Keepers of Culture will take place at the St. Johnsbury History and Heritage Center, on September 29th, at 4:30pm. Adults are invited to think and write about how family treasures reflect our values. Participants can enjoy a guided exploration of how family stories, sayings, recipes, traditions, legends, and nicknames become family folklore.
Community Stories will take place at the St. Johnsbury History and Heritage Center, on October 3rd, from 10-11:30am. Adults are invited to explore how oral history preserves community by joining a story circle to share (or just listen to) stories, memories, mysteries, and local legends pertaining to St. Johnsbury.
Family Folklore and Our Stories will take place at the Good Living Senior Center, on October 6th, from 10-11:30am. Adults are invited to explore how family stories shape identity. Participants are encouraged to write out a story that is often repeated in their family (perhaps a vacation disaster, a grandparent’s adventure, a family joke or a cautionary tale) and discuss how a single family story may hold varying perspectives.
Podcasting: Sharing Stories around the Technological Campfire will take place at Catamount Arts, on October 8th, at 6:30pm. Adults and high school students are invited to imagine creating their own podcast, and then learn how to create it in eight steps.
Lori Lee spent 25 years writing about Utah’s natural beauty and outdoor adventures before transitioning to personal narrative. She was the host and producer of the Love Your Story podcast, sharing candid interviews and conversations about living one’s best life despite myriad challenges. For eight years, the podcast featured stories about people dealing with anxiety, suicide, eating disorders, rape, abuse, and the loss of children and included interviews with athletes, Olympians, life coaches, therapists, and people who are changing the world.
Lee is a published poet, an award-winning essayist, and has an MS in Folkore with research focusing on the structure and function of personal narrative. She is the author of over 100 magazine articles and six books, including her latest, “L.I.F.E. – Living Intentional and Fearless Every Day.” Her self-help memoir, “The Messy Divine Business of Becoming,” will be published in 2028.
The 560 Railroad Community Artist program was developed by Catamount Arts in partnership with the Vermont Studio Center to bring a cohort of visiting artists to live and work in residency at 560 Railroad Street, in St. Johnsbury. The program brings visual, literary, and performing artists to St. Johnsbury for 4-6 weeks at a time to lead a variety of community engagement activities, including classes and workshops, discussions and artist talks, open studios, public art projects, performances, and more, in addition to growing their own creative practices. The 560 Railroad Community Artist program is supported in part by a grant from the Vermont Community Foundation’s Northeast Kingdom Fund.
Lori Lee’s community engagement events are supported in part by an Arts and Social Cohesion grant from the Vermont Community Foundation. To learn more about Lori Lee’s residency in St. Johnsbury or about the 560 Railroad Community Artists program, including the full roster of visiting artists, visit www.catamountarts.org.