The Stories You've Never Seen Before: A Masterclass with Alexander Chee
Monday, August 4, from 6 – 8 PM ET (Hybrid. Asynchronous option available)
Need financial aid? Apply here first.
In my 25 years of teaching, I have seen many students who struggle to get past writing what they believe the status quo wants from them, and who have not yet tapped into the stories they want to tell. This is a class created from the insights, techniques, and writing prompts I've created to help these students break that down inside of themselves. It is a class on how to push yourself to write the stories you’ve never seen anyone write but that you know exist, or should exist, because they tell themselves to you.
We will talk about listening to intuition, tuning in to your imagination in order to both move past the limits of what is familiar and to reach for what you know to be true, on the page. This advice is often given to writers — write the story only you can tell — but usually not with a plan. So for this class, we’ll talk about how to make the plan. This is a generative class, with a lecture, writing prompts, and suggested readings.
Class date and time: 2 hour masterclass on Monday, August 4, from 6 – 8 PM ET. After the event, all registrants will receive 30 days of access to the recording.
Location: Online via Zoom, or in-person at Asian Arts Initiative (1219 Vine Street, Philadelphia, PA, 19107). Nearby public parking lots are located along Vine Street as well as on Callowhill between 12th and 13th Streets. Street parking is available throughout the neighborhood.
Accessibility: AAI’s building and restrooms are ADA compliant. Masks are recommended, but not required. Both masks and COVID tests will be provided free of charge at the event. Please note any access needs at check-out and we’ll do our best to accommodate. If you have questions about accessibility not addressed by this page, please contact us at info@bluestoop.org
Alexander Chee is the bestselling author of the novels Edinburgh and The Queen of the Night, and the essay collection How To Write An Autobiographical Novel, all from Mariner Books. A contributing editor at The New Republic and an editor at large at VQR, his essays and stories have appeared in The New York Times Magazine, T Magazine, The Sewanee Review, and the 2016 and 2019 Best American Essays. He was guest-editor for The Best American Essays of 2022. He is a 2021 United States Artists Fellow, a 2021 Guggenheim Fellow in Nonfiction, and the recipient of a Whiting Award, a NEA Fellowship, an MCCA Fellowship, the Randy Shilts Prize in gay nonfiction, the Paul Engle Prize, the Lambda Editor’s Choice Prize, and residency fellowships from the MacDowell Colony, the VCCA, Leidig House, Civitella Ranieri and Amtrak. He is a full professor of English and Creative Writing at Dartmouth College and lives in Vermont.
We are proud to announce that this masterclass is co-sponsored by Asian Arts Initiative. Located in Philadelphia’s Chinatown North neighborhood, Asian Arts Initiative is a multidisciplinary arts center where all people — across experience and skill levels, age, race, and class backgrounds — can view and create art that reflects our lives, as well as think critically and creatively about the future we want to build for our communities.
Read our FAQ
Monday, August 4, from 6 – 8 PM ET (Hybrid. Asynchronous option available)
Need financial aid? Apply here first.
In my 25 years of teaching, I have seen many students who struggle to get past writing what they believe the status quo wants from them, and who have not yet tapped into the stories they want to tell. This is a class created from the insights, techniques, and writing prompts I've created to help these students break that down inside of themselves. It is a class on how to push yourself to write the stories you’ve never seen anyone write but that you know exist, or should exist, because they tell themselves to you.
We will talk about listening to intuition, tuning in to your imagination in order to both move past the limits of what is familiar and to reach for what you know to be true, on the page. This advice is often given to writers — write the story only you can tell — but usually not with a plan. So for this class, we’ll talk about how to make the plan. This is a generative class, with a lecture, writing prompts, and suggested readings.
Class date and time: 2 hour masterclass on Monday, August 4, from 6 – 8 PM ET. After the event, all registrants will receive 30 days of access to the recording.
Location: Online via Zoom, or in-person at Asian Arts Initiative (1219 Vine Street, Philadelphia, PA, 19107). Nearby public parking lots are located along Vine Street as well as on Callowhill between 12th and 13th Streets. Street parking is available throughout the neighborhood.
Accessibility: AAI’s building and restrooms are ADA compliant. Masks are recommended, but not required. Both masks and COVID tests will be provided free of charge at the event. Please note any access needs at check-out and we’ll do our best to accommodate. If you have questions about accessibility not addressed by this page, please contact us at info@bluestoop.org
Alexander Chee is the bestselling author of the novels Edinburgh and The Queen of the Night, and the essay collection How To Write An Autobiographical Novel, all from Mariner Books. A contributing editor at The New Republic and an editor at large at VQR, his essays and stories have appeared in The New York Times Magazine, T Magazine, The Sewanee Review, and the 2016 and 2019 Best American Essays. He was guest-editor for The Best American Essays of 2022. He is a 2021 United States Artists Fellow, a 2021 Guggenheim Fellow in Nonfiction, and the recipient of a Whiting Award, a NEA Fellowship, an MCCA Fellowship, the Randy Shilts Prize in gay nonfiction, the Paul Engle Prize, the Lambda Editor’s Choice Prize, and residency fellowships from the MacDowell Colony, the VCCA, Leidig House, Civitella Ranieri and Amtrak. He is a full professor of English and Creative Writing at Dartmouth College and lives in Vermont.
We are proud to announce that this masterclass is co-sponsored by Asian Arts Initiative. Located in Philadelphia’s Chinatown North neighborhood, Asian Arts Initiative is a multidisciplinary arts center where all people — across experience and skill levels, age, race, and class backgrounds — can view and create art that reflects our lives, as well as think critically and creatively about the future we want to build for our communities.
Read our FAQ
Monday, August 4, from 6 – 8 PM ET (Hybrid. Asynchronous option available)
Need financial aid? Apply here first.
In my 25 years of teaching, I have seen many students who struggle to get past writing what they believe the status quo wants from them, and who have not yet tapped into the stories they want to tell. This is a class created from the insights, techniques, and writing prompts I've created to help these students break that down inside of themselves. It is a class on how to push yourself to write the stories you’ve never seen anyone write but that you know exist, or should exist, because they tell themselves to you.
We will talk about listening to intuition, tuning in to your imagination in order to both move past the limits of what is familiar and to reach for what you know to be true, on the page. This advice is often given to writers — write the story only you can tell — but usually not with a plan. So for this class, we’ll talk about how to make the plan. This is a generative class, with a lecture, writing prompts, and suggested readings.
Class date and time: 2 hour masterclass on Monday, August 4, from 6 – 8 PM ET. After the event, all registrants will receive 30 days of access to the recording.
Location: Online via Zoom, or in-person at Asian Arts Initiative (1219 Vine Street, Philadelphia, PA, 19107). Nearby public parking lots are located along Vine Street as well as on Callowhill between 12th and 13th Streets. Street parking is available throughout the neighborhood.
Accessibility: AAI’s building and restrooms are ADA compliant. Masks are recommended, but not required. Both masks and COVID tests will be provided free of charge at the event. Please note any access needs at check-out and we’ll do our best to accommodate. If you have questions about accessibility not addressed by this page, please contact us at info@bluestoop.org
Alexander Chee is the bestselling author of the novels Edinburgh and The Queen of the Night, and the essay collection How To Write An Autobiographical Novel, all from Mariner Books. A contributing editor at The New Republic and an editor at large at VQR, his essays and stories have appeared in The New York Times Magazine, T Magazine, The Sewanee Review, and the 2016 and 2019 Best American Essays. He was guest-editor for The Best American Essays of 2022. He is a 2021 United States Artists Fellow, a 2021 Guggenheim Fellow in Nonfiction, and the recipient of a Whiting Award, a NEA Fellowship, an MCCA Fellowship, the Randy Shilts Prize in gay nonfiction, the Paul Engle Prize, the Lambda Editor’s Choice Prize, and residency fellowships from the MacDowell Colony, the VCCA, Leidig House, Civitella Ranieri and Amtrak. He is a full professor of English and Creative Writing at Dartmouth College and lives in Vermont.
We are proud to announce that this masterclass is co-sponsored by Asian Arts Initiative. Located in Philadelphia’s Chinatown North neighborhood, Asian Arts Initiative is a multidisciplinary arts center where all people — across experience and skill levels, age, race, and class backgrounds — can view and create art that reflects our lives, as well as think critically and creatively about the future we want to build for our communities.
