Today we’d like to introduce you to Christina Berke.
Hi Christina, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I think most creative people can reflect back to find some defining moments and I can remember a few like learning how to type on a typewriter or reading a really inspiring book. My family supported my love of reading and writing and I had some mentors along the way who encouraged me. Maybe I first realized I was a writer when I couldn’t wait to get home from school to write a short story, or to write in my journal. Maybe it was winning writing awards in school or getting my first story published when I lived in New York.
When I applied to MFA programs in creative writing, I started to consider what was important to me as a writing student and also as a teacher. I learned what made a comfortable learning environment and strategies to encourage inspiration as well as the practical aspects of making a living as a writer.
As a teacher, my pedagogy shifted during my M.Ed. program at UCLA and I learned to be more fully myself in class, to create spaces that I’d want to be in, to teach to the person, rather than just the student. So everything from live plants to music and the books I choose is with the intention to create a happy space. Every year I seek out something that will help me grow professionally, whether it’s a conference or class or certificate.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Life isn’t without its ups and downs and many artists can relate to the instability that comes with working freelance. Some months or years are more productive than others in terms of creative output (many of the most potent times have been at writing residencies like Hedgebrook and Storyknife). With the creative writing workshops I teach, they’ve mainly been online which allows me the flexibility to continue to travel. As a writer, submitting your work can be vulnerable and stressful. Sometimes you won’t hear back for months (or years); other times it’s in less than a day. I’m not sure which feels worse. There are many top tier publications that I’ve gotten close to seeing my byline in (some that got ‘killed’ close to pub date), and that’s always hard. But you move on to the next idea and hope it’ll get picked up elsewhere. As a teaching artist, my creative writing workshops are often partnered with other organizations across the country and sometimes classes are canceled due to lack of enrollment so I try to lean into the idea that it just wasn’t the right time for it.
In general, balancing all my responsibilities to create space for everything I love can be a challenge. Being in charge of my own schedule takes a lot of energy mentally to switch back and forth so often– teacher, editor, ghost writer, curriculum designer, creator, reader, entrepreneur, designer (I’m a big fan of Canva) and I have so many projects to manage but it also makes for a dynamic way of living.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’m a writer with publications in places like Teen Vogue, Apartment Therapy, Edible, Popsugar, The Sun and elsewhere. Recently I’ve started travel writing more, but I’ve written nonfiction for quite a while as well as some fiction (short stories mostly though I have a couple of novels and a memoir in the works). Like many writers, I have a travel Substack called Where Is Christina and I write about experiences like eating at one of Time Magazine’s World’s Greatest Places. And I’m also active in the literary community as a memoir submission reader for Split Lip Magazine and for writing residency panels and contests.
As an educator, I started as a middle school English teacher in south Los Angeles and have worked with people of all ages, but my speciality is creative writing workshops like Foundations courses, generative 2-hour workshops focused on a theme (like writing the teen self or writing like a pop star), and creativity boosters (such as using The Artist’s Way). I’m also a former librarian, Adjunct Professor of English, and private educator for UHNW families across the globe and feel lucky to have had the chance to work with such diverse groups of learners.
As an entrepreneur, I ran my own tutoring and editing business for several years before moving abroad. Since then, I still take on occasional clients but also offer self-paced writing classes, like the recently launched Write Now Workshops where I have a trauma-informed memoir class.
Personally, I’m most proud of my resilience. After a rough childhood, it was hard to find my way and to feel like my writing was worth publishing; I thought I needed a stable career but I found I wasn’t as fulfilled with traditional 9-5 jobs. When I started focusing on my creative writing more fully about ten years ago, I saw my work open up in ways that it wouldn’t have if I quit. Writing can be tedious and often it’s done in isolation over a period of years. But the thing is to keep going, keep writing, because as humans, we’re meant to have some form of creative outlet. That’s when I feel the most happy and free.
Professionally, I’m most proud of seeing my students thrive. Whether it’s their first publication or getting into their dream school, or even just exposing them to a writer they might not otherwise read and it connects with them, it renews my hope. I’m so inspired by them.
What sets me apart from other writing teachers is the trauma-informed aspect I bring to my classes. I’m an empath so students often say I have a really big heart and my class environments are warm and inviting. When writing memoir especially, many instructors aren’t clear on how to set a container for writing that can be traumatic, so I infuse my workshops with strategies to help students feel good about their work while also keeping to their original artistic vision. I care a lot about giving students options in a supportive environment because I’ve been in spaces where that hasn’t been the case so I want anyone working with me to leave feeling hopeful and inspired. There are also great writers who aren’t great teachers and vice versa, so being a credentialed educator who understands how to design an objective-driven class is beneficial.
What does success mean to you?
I feel very grateful to have achieved many professional goals I’d wished for, but sometimes it feels anti-climactic once the box is checked. So I’ve learned to enjoy the journey of getting there, feeling excited about creating a new goal, whether it’s a new publication, a different way to approach a project, a new class or idea. It’s about feeling good along the way. Ultimately, success for me is about looking back at my day and seeing how much it was filled with doing the things I love with the people I care about in a way that feels easy and in the flow.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.christinaberke.com
- Instagram: whereischristina
