Class Description
The beauty of essays lies in their fluidity. An essay can meander, weave together disparate topics, offer a mosaic of passages that are only tentatively related, but often the essence of an essay is in the white spaces of what has not been written.
In this four-week online course, we will consider the origin of the essay as an experimental way of organizing one’s thoughts and narrative and explore various essay structures such as braided essays, lyrical essays, list essays, and hermit-crab essays. We’ll look at examples from writers such as Michel de Montaigne, James Baldwin, Eula Biss, Claudia Rankine, Brenda Miller and others. Analyzing structure will help to open up your own writing, as well: each week, prompts and exercises will encourage you to experiment with the essay structures you have analyzed. You will also have the opportunity to receive feedback on your drafts from the instructor and your fellow students. You will leave the class with several new drafts to revise, and an expanded structural toolbox for your future drafts.
All levels are welcome!
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.