Thursdays 6-8PM, 2/10, 2/17, 2/24, 3/3, 3/10, 3/17, 3/24, 3/31 (makeup class: 4/7)
Cost: $400, with financial aid very available to residents of Greater Philadelphia (Bucks, Camden, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia Counties).
The lyric essay: it is what it is, but what is it? What narratives fit this fluid form? Pulling from traditional poetry, memoir, journalism, and other genres, the lyric essay is what you make of it. This class aims to interrogate the form itself—even as it continues to shapeshift—but more importantly, help you reimagine your own relationship to the lyric essay and find your place within its myriad definitions.
Together, we will work toward an understanding of the lyric essay and the unique ways in which you can approach and expand it for yourself. A diverse set of readings (from Maggie Nelson, Jo Ann Beard, Anne Carson, Terrance Hayes, Victoria Chang, Jenny Boully, and Phillip B. Williams, among others) will shape our weekly writing prompts and discussions of access, content, tone, association, and narrative. You’ll also present your own lyric essay(s) for critique in an inclusive, constructive workshop environment.
Jiordan Castle is the author of the chapbook All His Breakable Things and the memoir in verse Disappearing Act (FSG, 2023). Her work has appeared in HuffPost, The New Yorker, and elsewhere. She is a contributor to the food and culture magazine Compound Butter and an Editor-at-Large for Pigeon Pages.