Cooper Street Workshop: Writing Ethically about Others

About the Workshop

We are the stars of our own stories, but we could never have lived our lives without a cast of supporting characters. What obligation do we have to these heroes, villains and extras who populate our past? How do we treat those who are guilty of neglect and abuse? Should we seek their permission? Should we change their names? Will this make our stories less honest or less “True?” We will wrestle with these and other questions as we explore ways to write about our lives fairly, frankly, and without regret. This session will include readings, freewriting, craft discussions, and a generative prompt.

COST: $60 or $30 General, $10 Camden city residents & Rutgers-Camden students

About the Instructor

Peter E. Murphy was born in Wales and raised in New York City. He is the author of fourteen books and chapbooks of poetry and prose including The Buzzing of the Blue Guitar (2026), You Too Were Once on Fire (2025) and A Tipsy Fairy Tale: A Coming of Age Memoir of Alcohol and Redemption (2024). His writing has appeared in The Michigan Quarterly Review, The North American Review, Poetry Wales, Rattle, The Sun, and other publications. He is a six-time fellow of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts and the founder of Murphy Writing of Stockton University in Atlantic City.

This is an in-person workshop held at the Rutgers-Camden Writers House.