Finding Your Subject and Your Authority in Nonfiction [Kate Lebo]
Intermediate | This is a class about strategies writers use to discover their subjects and develop their authority while not-knowing, and how this essential risk can lead to greater vulnerability, complexity, and artistic surprise. We’ll read a lot—whole books by Rebecca Brown, Helen Garner, and Margot Jefferson. We’ll study the ways nonfiction becomes larger than what it’s “about.” Then we’ll find our own subjects via multiple kinds of research and self-interrogation. Each student’s weekly writing will culminate in a finished essay.