The Art of Perhapsing: Remembering and Speculating in Creative Nonfiction

“When an author’s memories of concrete details are sketchy or absent, the technique of perhapsing not only allows her to recreate the scene effectively, it also helps establish her as a reliable narrator.”

—Lisa Knopp ("Perhapsing: The Use of Speculation in Creative Nonfiction")

“The nonfictional nature of memoir and essay writing often comes into conflict with the nature of memory,” says instructor Rob Williams. “How do we keep our pact with the reader, to honor the truth of our story, when we may not be able to recall all of the details or even dialogue? Or maybe we weren’t even there to witness the event. How do we avoid misleading the reader or misrepresenting our history?”

In this two-day class, we’ll look at how we work with the imperfection of memory and still keep that pact. We'll also talk about strategies for coping with the vagaries of memory.

We’ll read examples of 'perhapsing' from new and established writers, analyze and discuss the techniques, reflect on various impacts of implicit and explicit signaling of imperfect recall on the narrative, and practice ‘perhapsing’ in our own writing through prompts and exercises.

Students will leave the class with having written several fully realized short scenes (or the start to an essay) where they’ve remained true to the heart of their story, and still an honest reliable narrator, while at the same time ‘perhapsing’ and speculating what might have been for the parts unknown. They will also have the tools and techniques to continue beyond the class, writing further about the people, places, and times they thought previously were out of their reach.

About The Writing Salon's Remote Classes

You will be able to participate in live class meetings via Zoom videoconference. To attend classes, you'll need a phone, tablet or computer and access to the internet. You can participate in the class from wherever you'd like, whether on your living room couch or in your office. Before your class meets, you'll receive an email from The Writing Salon with more information about Zoom and your remote class. If you have any questions about remote learning, please don't hesitate to reach out to us at hello@writingsalons.com.