Class Description
This workshop is designed for intermediate and advanced essay writers who are already working on personal essay projects and want to receive regular feedback in a supportive and constructively critical environment. The class will include in-depth workshops of student writing, discussions on the art of the personal essay, and readings of works in the genre, including but not limited to pieces by Matthew Salesses, Jerald Walker, Roxane Gay, Rachel Cusk, Barbara Kingsolver, Brent Staples, Cathy Park Hong, Rabih Alameddine, Leslie Jamison, and Jamaica Kincaid (many drawn from the Best American Essays 2020 anthology, and other sources). In-class writing prompts will encourage students to try their hand at different elements of personal essay writing. Over the course of the class, each student will submit work 2-3 times (depending on enrollment) and receive written and verbal feedback in an in-depth workshop; by the end of the course, students will have received responses from the instructor and fellow students to at least two excerpts or complete essays to guide their drafts towards revision. Note: Since the content of personal essays often reflect intimate issues, controversial views, and real-life situations, we will ensure that conversations around the work and its content take place in a safe, supportive, and respectful space.
This class will be hosted using live Zoom meetings! You will be able to participate in class via Zoom videoconference from wherever you’re most comfortable. All you’ll need is a laptop or a phone! About 15 minutes before your class is scheduled to begin, you'll receive an email from your instructor with a link to join the class meeting via Zoom–no need to download anything or sign up for Zoom in advance! If you have questions about remote learning, please feel free to reach out to [email protected] for more information.
For a glimpse at how remote learning works, look no further than the deep Zoom discussion of writing and literature below:
Scholarship Information
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 more detailed information about GrubStreet scholarships, including how to contribute to scholarship funds for other students, click here.
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.