The Personal Essay in Fragments

Some of us view the world in fragments because of traumatic memory, neurodivergence, marginalized experiences, or simply because it's the way we think. In this generative class, we'll study and create personal essays that grow from flashes, images, and scenes. Beautiful essays can emerge from this prismatic vision, allowing for deeper truths than might fit in a traditional narrative. We will study examples from Natalie Diaz, Kazim Ali, Colleen J. McElroy, Maggie Nelson, and others. There will be in-class time for writing and sharing.

Registration dates:

March 13: Scholarship Donation Day (Learn more.)

March 14: Member registration opens

March 21: General registration opens

Jen Soriano

Jen Soriano is a nonbinary Filipinx-American writer, independent scholar, and social movement strategist based in Seattle, WA. Their writing has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net, and has appeared in Pleiades, Waxwing, and Hennepin Review, among other outlets. Melissa Febos has called Jen’s work “powerful and luminous” and Aisha Sabatini-Sloan has described her writing as “vivid” and “cinematic.” Jen is the recipient of the Penelope Niven Prize, the Fugue Prose Prize, and Jack Jones and Hugo House Fellowships. Their first full-length book, Nervous, is forthcoming from Amistad/HarperCollins in summer 2023.