Class Description
What happens when writing refuses to fit neatly into one genre? In this class, we’ll explore the fertile space where poetry and nonfiction meet—where lyric language meets lived experience, and boundaries blur between fact, feeling, and form.
Each week, we’ll focus on a central theme—such as grief, identity, or desire—and examine how poets and nonfiction writers approach it differently. We’ll also study authors who move fluidly between genres, considering how their work transforms when poetry and prose converge. Together, we’ll ask: What can the tools of one genre reveal about the other? And how can crossing forms open up new ways of telling truth?
Through readings, discussion, and generative exercises, you’ll experiment with hybrid forms of your own, exploring voice, structure, and experimentation across genres. Readings may include work by Claudia Rankine, Lidia Yuknavitch, Jesmyn Ward, Joy Harjo, and others.
By the end of the course, you’ll have a deeper understanding of how genre can both constrain and liberate—and a collection of hybrid pieces that live in the rich space between poetry and nonfiction.
Writing Roadmap: We've created a simple, goal-based writing roadmap to help you find the perfect GrubStreet course for your writing needs.
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.