Need financial aid? Apply here first.
From the first page, a writer can establish the emotional stakes and boundaries needed to foster moments of deep connection and understanding with the reader. In this generative 6 week class, we'll explore strategies for achieving intimacy in personal essay and memoir right from the start. Examining contemporary and canonical works by Hanif Abdurraqib, Jo Ann Beard, Jason McCall, Sung Yim, and others, we’ll consider numerous techniques — from fact to flashback, searching to speculation, mourning to myth — that will shape how we think about craft and form’s role in building trust with readers. Each week we’ll generate new or alternate beginnings to brand new works or works-in-progress. Expect generative writing exercises, inspirational readings, interactive discussions, and opportunities to share drafts with peers.
Readings may include:
“Defiance, Ohio is the Name of a Band...” by Hanif Abdurraquib
“The Pain Scale” by Eula Biss
“Transgender Day of Remembrance: A Found Essay” by Torrey Peters
Instructor: Camellia-Berry Grass is the author of the lyric essay collection Hall of Waters, and her essays appear in DIAGRAM, Barrelhouse, the Texas Review, and Waxwing, among numerous other publications and anthologies. She has served as Nonfiction Editor for Black Warrior Review and for Sundog Lit. She holds an MFA in creative writing from the University of Alabama, and has taught most recently at Rutgers-Camden, University of the Arts, and in the MFA program for creative writing at Rosemont College. Her essay "Battle Vest" was a 2019 nominee for the Krause Essay Prize.
Need financial aid? Apply here first.
From the first page, a writer can establish the emotional stakes and boundaries needed to foster moments of deep connection and understanding with the reader. In this generative 6 week class, we'll explore strategies for achieving intimacy in personal essay and memoir right from the start. Examining contemporary and canonical works by Hanif Abdurraqib, Jo Ann Beard, Jason McCall, Sung Yim, and others, we’ll consider numerous techniques — from fact to flashback, searching to speculation, mourning to myth — that will shape how we think about craft and form’s role in building trust with readers. Each week we’ll generate new or alternate beginnings to brand new works or works-in-progress. Expect generative writing exercises, inspirational readings, interactive discussions, and opportunities to share drafts with peers.
Readings may include:
“Defiance, Ohio is the Name of a Band...” by Hanif Abdurraquib
“The Pain Scale” by Eula Biss
“Transgender Day of Remembrance: A Found Essay” by Torrey Peters
Instructor: Camellia-Berry Grass is the author of the lyric essay collection Hall of Waters, and her essays appear in DIAGRAM, Barrelhouse, the Texas Review, and Waxwing, among numerous other publications and anthologies. She has served as Nonfiction Editor for Black Warrior Review and for Sundog Lit. She holds an MFA in creative writing from the University of Alabama, and has taught most recently at Rutgers-Camden, University of the Arts, and in the MFA program for creative writing at Rosemont College. Her essay "Battle Vest" was a 2019 nominee for the Krause Essay Prize.
