Nonfiction

The lyric essay has become a highly popular genre, appearing in a breadth of markets from journalism to the personal essay. But what is it precisely? Poetic essay, essayistic poem, both, or neither... more

“By writing memoir and personal essays, we give form to our histories and make something of meaning and beauty that is uniquely ours,” says instructor Katharine Harer. "I love this genre because you can be yourself, complete with your idiosyncrasies, strong opinions, flashes of wisdom and crazy moments... more

“Who would you communicate with if you could reach across time and space?” asks instructor Kerry Muir. “A child yet to be born, a beloved friend, a parent now gone? Our prose takes on a strikingly intimate quality when we write with a specific recipient in mind... more

The focus of the workshop is to encourage and guide experienced writers in creating, revising, and potentially publishing short, stand-alone works of memoir... more

Do you feel you have a story inside you, but you’re a little leery of getting thrown in the deep end? In this class, you’ll gently wade into the vast sea of memories and experiences you’ve been carrying around for your whole life... more

In this class you will plunge into the personal themes that make your real life stories uniquely yours. In the first half of this class, instructor Alison Luterman will give you writing exercises carefully designed to elicit the undertones and overtones that elevate events and anecdotes into the realm of art... more

“Since brevity is the soul of wit,” join us for a day of reading and writing flash memoir. A close cousin to flash fiction, this genre zeroes in on brief-but-significant moments from our real lives and requires lean, precise language ... more

"In this 5-week class, we'll immerse ourselves in the lyric essay," says instructor Rob Williams. "We’ll learn essential tools to gain confidence with this form, such as how to construct images with sensory details, how to use poetic language like alliteration and assonance... more

This class is for experienced nonfiction writers who are ready to take drafts from generative to gleaming, who want intensive workshop time, and who want to learn through the reading and discussion of the work of others... more

"The journey of recovery is the Hero’s Journey,” says instructor Alison Luterman. “We search for something outside ourselves, or we are chased by our own demons and run to escape. We go to Hell; we come back from Hell with some wisdom to offer the tribe... more