TIME, SPACE & THE LANDSCAPER OF SELF

In this creative writing workshop, writers will delve into what has made the personal essay a unique and captivating literary form for centuries, both for readers to read and writers to write. To add a new element to this personal essay course, we will specifically be looking at how landscapes — geographical, historical, political, aesthetic and bodily — impact the way we tell our stories. From Fran Leibowitz to Ta-Nehisi Coates, Philip Lopate to David Sedaris, Susan Orlean to Samantha Irby, David Foster Wallace to Joan Didion, the diverse works we read in this course will provide a wider lens through which to view our own experience, a map against which to chart our own world. Each reading we cover as a class will come with generative writing prompts to spark inspiration and provide structure, culminating in the completion of a full-length, cohesive, and compelling personal essay developed through workshop and revision. Along with craft and workshop, the course will also include a discussion of the submission process, literary journals, cover letters, and publication. Be prepared to learn more about yourself and others than you’d ever imagined. All are welcome regardless of whether you’ve taken a personal essay course before or are entering the genre for the first time. Together we will explore multiple approaches to writing, changing how you see your creative work and your life.