Intro to the Personal Essay

How do you write about personal life experiences in a way that's gripping and breathtaking, rather than self-indulgent and unshaped? In this 6-week workshop for beginners, you'll learn and practice the fundamental building blocks of writing personal essays. Each week, we'll look at a different type or form of essay (narrative, meditative, topical; braided, collage; flash, lyric, hermit crab) and craft topic (focusing on elements like questions, conflict, and change; scene-writing; passages of reflection, summary and backstory; pacing and time; form and structure). We will read published examples from authors like, but not limited to, Eula Biss, Roxane Gay, Jacquira Diaz, Leslie Jamison, Virginia Woolf, Jerald Walker, Ryan Van Meter, Gary Percesepe, Jonathan Lethem, Brian Doyle, Ira Sukrungruang, E.B. White, and Barbara Kingsolver, and study the craft behind them. We'll also read excerpts from such craft books as Tell It Slant (Miller/Paola); Crafting The Personal Essay (Moore); Writing the Memoir (Barrington) and The Art of Memoir (Karr), and other craft essays.

You will complete in-class exercises that will allow you to practice what you learn. You’ll present drafts of at least 2 essays to the class (3,000 words maximum per essay); these will be shared ahead of time and will receive oral feedback from your fellow students and instructor. Feedback will be designed to guide your drafts for the next revision. By the end of the workshop, you will have completed drafts of 2 essays, and better understood the genre and craft elements of the personal essay. 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.

Class Format

This class will take place in-person at our Center for Creative Writing in Boston's Seaport neighborhood.