Classes

  • Term:
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  • Time: 12:00am - 12:00am PT
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  • Availability: Yes
  • Public Price: $380.00
  • Member Price: $342.00

Learn About Scholarships

Online Class | The Art of the Personal Essay [Beth Slattery]

VIDEO: This class will take place via video-conferencing (Zoom).

All Levels | In an effort to better understand the personal essay, we will study classic and contemporary pieces and investigate uses of voice, characterization, description, humor, and structure in our own work. This course will include substantial discussion about the different types of personal essay, including contemplative, travel, and lyric essays, as well as others. We will have a robust workshop and a generative exercise each week. Students will leave with a polished personal essay of up to 20 pages and extensive feedback from classmates and the instructor. Authors we will look at include: James Baldwin, Scott Russell Sanders, Richard Rodriguez, Joan Didion, and Lia Purpura.

The teacher of this course will be adapting curriculum to offer an online option should preventative measures against coronavirus, such as social distancing, prevent the class from being in-person. We are in uncertain times, but want to make the experience accessible and worthwhile, and are planning for that in advance!