Class Description
The best travel writing takes readers on a journey that is not only geographic but narrative. This intensive course in literary travel writing will introduce writers to key ways to transform their travel experiences into compelling narratives in the forms of short essays or memoirs. Exercises will explore approaches to chronology, identifying the narrative thread, creating sensory description, recreating dialogue, and how language can be used to create a sense of place. Excerpts from travel essays by writers such as Alexander Chee and Cheryl Strayed will be discussed. Bring a notebook and pen (or a laptop if you prefer) and expect to read some of your in-class writing aloud. You will leave the class with a strong outline and some early drafting of a travel essay.
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.