Class Description
Those of us who write creative nonfiction tend to think that experimentation belongs in the realm of fiction, and that our personal stories, involving real people and real events, should be presented in a traditional, linear narrative format and from a singular point of view. But memory is rarely linear and many great memoirists (including Joan Wickersham, Nick Flynn, Lidia Yuknavitch, Kiese Laymon) play with form, making the case that certain stories and episodes are best evoked through unpredictable and experimental prose. In this class we will read and discuss excerpts from memoirs who “break the rules” and engage in prompt-driven writing to find alternative ways to tell our own stories.
Thanks to the excellent literary citizenship of our donors, scholarships are available for all GrubStreet classes. To apply, click the gray "APPLY FOR SCHOLARSHIP" button. In order to be considered for a scholarship, you must complete your application at least one week before the start date of a class. Please await our scholarship committee's decision before registering for the class. We cannot hold spots in classes, so the sooner you apply, the better. Scholarships cannot be applied retroactively.
For more detailed information about GrubStreet scholarships, including how to contribute to scholarship funds for other students, click here.
This class will take place using Zoom videoconferencing. After registering, a yellow Resources tab will appear in this section containing a link to join class. Please note that you will need to be logged into view the Resources tab.
Zoom Participation:
In our experience, the intimate nature of a writing workshop benefits from on-camera participation. Students are of course welcome to turn their camera off whenever they need to, but it is a community norm for cameras to be on most of the time. You can learn more about using Zoom here.
Zoom Accessibility:
You can enable closed captioning at any time during the meeting by clicking the CC button at the bottom of the screen. If you'd like to access the transcript after class, please make sure to let your instructor ahead of time that you'd like a copy.