Hello and Welcome to My Writing [Wendy Xu]

Applying to prizes and various other opportunities is often a necessary part of a writer’s life—and seemingly ubiquitous among these applications is the “please discuss your work” statement or introduction. How can we articulate our guiding forces in a way that is fresh, earnest, and illuminating, not to mention “successful” in the end? Can we speak on our work in a way that raises both social and imaginative consciousnesses? We’ll do some generative writing to explore this, before turning to examples of authors (eg: James Tate, Lyn Hejinian) speaking enlighteningly about their writing. More practical issues of application prep will also be covered, and students are invited to bring specific questions.