Writing a New Chapter
Arshia Simkin ’19 MFA and Emily Cataneo ’19 MFA help Triangle residents tell their own stories.
Redbud Writing Project’s motto is “Write your story. Change your life,” a lofty goal. But it’s one the Raleigh-based program regularly lives up to. Started by Arshia Simkin ’19 MFA and Emily Cataneo ’19 MFA, Redbud is an adult-education program that seeks to bring out the writer in everyone, especially marginalized voices.
“One person came into a class for survivors of domestic violence and was very hesitant,” recalls Cataneo. “But we showed her different approaches, like using a fairy tale to write about experiences. By the end, she was finally able to put her own experiences down on paper for the first time. It was cathartic.”
Cataneo and Simkin met at NC State’s MFA program in creative writing. Both lived previously in Boston, where Cataneo worked for “a series of failing newspapers.” Simkin was a lawyer for a nonprofit, a path she calls “ a dramatic tale of woe.” But after finding refuge in returning to school, they faced uncertain post graduate career prospects.
“We decided to bring our teaching chops to the general public,” says Cataneo.
“We decided to bring our teaching chops to the general public.”
–Emily Cataneo ’19 MFA
Named after the trees Simkin would see commuting from Raleigh to Burlington along Interstate 40 (“I think we both love how hardy the redbud is,” she says), Redbud has been popular since starting in 2019. The program offers five six-week sessions and a shorter summer class every year, with up to a dozen students per class. Subjects offered include fiction, memoir, poetry, short stories and novels. One of their teaching venues is the Raleigh Rescue Mission, where Redbud offers an Intro to Memoir class for unhoused people.
Both founders teach, augmented by other writers in the area. Tuition is usually in the $300 range, but a fair number of students don’t pay anything. Fundraising, grants and donations for scholarships make the program accessible to those who would not be able to afford it.
“We aim to bring the rigor of a university-level program to the general public,” says Simkin. “It’s a fun and exciting thing to get people involved in. We provide structure, accountability and a sense of community to help people. Students surprise themselves by the end with what they’ve accomplished.”
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