Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Elizabeth Perlman. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Elizabeth, thanks for joining us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

I have always loved writing. Starting with my first diary at age age nine, I have written in a journal every day of my life. Although I started envisioning a girls’ empowerment program when I was still in my 20s, I didn’t yet have the confidence or the clarity to make it happen. Instead, I was guided to do something more practical, to “tell the story of a brand” as a graphic designer. While I enjoyed the “visual storytelling” aspects of design, I spent most of my young adulthood feeling depressed. I knew I wasn’t living my truth, but I felt stuck and didn’t know how to change my life. It wasn’t until the recession of 2008 that I finally had an excuse to go back to school and study what I was most passionate about—creative writing and the transformative arts. It was in grad school that I learned how to create a safe space for people to express themselves creatively and connect to their own wisdom. Grad school also gave me the time and space I needed to develop my vision for The Intuitive Writing Project, a writing-based empowerment program for girls and gender-expansive youth. Although I was afraid to put it out there, I knew I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t make the attempt. Fortunately, I knew from the very first class that THIS was what I wanted to do with my life, empowering girls to find their voice through writing. Twelve years later, I’m still doing this work—and so grateful for the second chance to find my calling.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I first created The Intuitive Writing Project in 2012 because it was what I wanted and needed when I was young: a safe, supportive space to speak my truth and have it heard. Unfortunately, because I didn’t have a program like this when I was young, I spent most of my youth struggling with low self-esteem, convinced that my words and ideas were “stupid,” “weird” and “worthless.” It’s taken over twenty years of therapy to unlearn my negative conditioning and discover my value and power. But now that I’m on the other side of it, I want to do whatever I can to ensure that every girl I meet grows up knowing her own value and power. As the saying goes, I strive to be the person I needed when I was young.

The way I support girls is through creative, intuitive writing, giving girls a positive, encouraging space to tell their story, find their voice and have it validated. When girls write from the heart, they discover who they are, what they value, and how to trust their own inner wisdom. When girls share their writing in our classes and receive positive feedback from their peers, they learn that their thoughts and feelings are powerful and important. Through the experience of weekly writing classes, girls develop incredible self-confidence, learning to recognize themselves as both the authors and the leaders of their own life story.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

I would love for the book “Your Brain on Art: How the Arts Transform Us” by Susan Magsaman and Ivy Ross to become required reading for both parents and teachers, to help facilitate a national conversation on the importance of creative expression for all people, especially young people. Ideally, I’d love to see more funding for all sorts of art-based programs so everyone in America has access to a creative outlet within a supportive, creative community, thus supporting the social, emotional and mental health of all people.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

Every woman I know has been taught to criticize and doubt themselves, to believe we are not worthy and not enough. For me, writing is how I how I found my voice and learned to believe in myself—so I want to offer the same support and encouragement to everyone who seeks it. Through intuitive writing, I hope to empower all female-identifying people to connect to and believe in their own intuitive wisdom and power.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.intuitivewritingproject.org/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/intuitivewriter/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-intuitive-writing-project/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi1SskpVRTOTxiiuqJal90Q
• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/words_into_sounds
• Other: https://intuitivevoice.org/

Image Credits

Three TIWP teachers: Gretchen Cion, Elizabeth Perlman, Melissa Quiter

Group photo with students: Zoe Moga, Audrey Lambert, Elizabeth Perlman, Josslyn Grover, Emma Wong, Ava Sabolboro