ENGLISH CLLW: Life Writing

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In this class, we will explore different genres of life writing. We will discuss how to approach research, consider questions of perspective, and examine different narrative structures. We will talk about how to begin a piece, how to end it, what to do along the way. We will strive for clarity but be sensitive to nuance. We will consider ethical obligations and standards. We will pay special attention to language, style, and voice.

And of course, we will write.

You will do in-class exercises designed to explore and strengthen certain aspects of good writing. You will also write two papers. Life writing can take many forms, and so can your work. You can write a more traditional magazine-style profile of a person who interests you – a project that would involve interviewing your subject and people who know them well, in addition to the kind of reporting that would help place your subject in context. You can take a more essayistic approach, giving us a likeness of your subject and communicating something important about their personality and worldview. You can write a biographical sketch of a historical or public figure (alive or dead), using secondary sources and archival materials. You can draw from your own life, making connections between your experience and larger social (or, for that matter, natural) forces.

Each paper will be between 2,000-3,000 words (though this is flexible: the length should make sense for the subject and structure). Please note that while both papers can be personal in some sense, only one can be a memoir. (This is also not a hard rule. If you have a good reason for wanting to write two personal essays, let me know and we’ll discuss.)

We will workshop each paper as a class. A revision of one of the papers -- your choice -- is due two weeks after your second workshop.

Becoming a better writer usually requires becoming a better reader. I will not assign a lot of reading, but I will expect you to do it – and to do it carefully. The first part of each class will be devoted to discussing assigned reading. Because this is a writing seminar, our focus will be on form more than content.

All levels of experience are welcome to apply.

You can find the syllabus, subject to revision, here.