The Way Through: Meditation and Memoir

Class Description

Some of the obstacles encountered when writing memoir can be daunting, such as mining personal and family history, developing an authentic voice, and knowing how to find the right structure.

In this workshop we’ll explore the possible answers to writing problems through the lens of mindfulness meditation, learning the foundations and best practices, as well as how to apply daily meditation to our ongoing writing life. We’ll explore aspects of Gunaratana’s Mindfulness in Plain English, as well as works by Maggie Nelson, Rebecca Solnit, Aleksandar Hémon, Geoff Dyer, Lauren Slater, Joan Didion and David Lynch.

Each class will feature one or two short meditations, with a lecture and discussion component. Meditations will be done seated in chairs, and participants are asked to dress comfortably. This workshop is for all memoir writers, whether just beginning or nearing completion.

Week One: Foundations of meditation and memoir
Week Two: Befriend stillness to develop your voice
Week Three: Objects of meditation and the objects of memory
Week Four: Breath, the body and your memoir’s structure
Week Five: The interventions are small: revising and editing (when you’d rather not)
Week Six: Metta meditation, keeping the habit and where to go from here

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.