Daniel Chacon, Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), will lead a prose workshop titled "The Writer and the Brain" at the Murray Hotel Ballroom on Saturday, October 28, 10-11 AM.

Chacon describes his session as follows: "In this workshop we will look at some metaphors of the human brain, such as the triune brain with the prefrontal cortex, the animal brain, and the reptile brain. We will treat these metaphors as creative ways to think about intelligence and creativity. And then we will discuss protocols on how we can engineer our own understanding of the brain in order to enter into that state of flow that all writers seek, where time and space disappear and we are completely immersed in the process.

We will consider various writing exercises that may help us go beyond the default mode of consciousness, the ennui and boredom of everydayness, that state of mind that impedes the human brain from achieving wonder and imagination."

Daniel Chacón is a Chicano short story writer, novelist, essayist, editor, professor, and radio host based in El Paso, Texas. He chairs the University of Texas, El Paso's creative writing graduate program, the country's only bilingual MFA program. He is the author of Cholo Tree, Hotel Juarez, Chicano Chicanery, Unending Rooms, and more.

This workshop is free and open to the public. Visit the Southwest Word Fiesta website for more information and a full schedule of events: www.swwordfiesta.org .