How to Turn Your Obsessions into Awesome Prose (A Workshop for Democracy)
with Steve Almond
Genres: Fiction, Nonfiction
Online
Online Open to all levels
Open to all levels 1 Session
1 Session Most good writing—fiction or nonfiction—arises from a writer’s obsessions. In this intensive session, we’ll discuss how to explore our obsessions on the page, without falling prey to self-absorption or sentiment. We’ll start by looking at the work of folks such as Joan Didion, George Saunders, and others, and then generate some work in class by confessing to our own obsessions. Check your inhibitions at the door.
This is a Workshop for Democracy. For each Workshop for Democracy, instructor Steve Almond will contribute 100% of his teaching pay to the organization Black Voters Matter (www.blackvotersmatterfund.org/donate/). The instructor asks that students pay Hugo House a discounted fee for the class and then consider contributing to a local cause of their choosing. The suggested donation is $100, though students are free to contribute what feels right to them. Before class, we will briefly discuss what being active participants in democracy and citizens of good faith means to us in this vital moment.
Registration dates:
August 22: Scholarship Donation Day (Learn more.)
August 23: Member registration opens
August 30: General registration opens
Steve Almond
Steve Almond [www.stevealmondjoy.org] is the author of a dozen books, including the NYT Bestsellers “Candyfreak” and “Against Football.” He’s the recipient of an NEA grant for 2022 and teaches at Harvard and Wesleyan. His work has been published in the Best American Short Stories, the Best American Mysteries, Best American Erotica, and the New York Times Magazine. His first novel, “Which Brings Me to You” was made into a major motion picture starring Lucy Hale. His second novel, “All the Secrets of the World,” is under development by 20th Century Fox. His new book, “Truth Is the Arrow, Mercy Is the Bow” is about craft, where stories come from, and the struggle to write.
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