Melissa Bank
- Write Your Head Off :
In this workshop, you’ll actually be writing in class, and, however impossible or
scary that may sound, it will be great—hard work, but really fun. In as much as you’ll
be writing about your own life, this is a memoir workshop, but we’re not going to
concern ourselves with the rules or rigors of that genre. In fact, we’re going to
behave as if there aren’t any rules at all. As such, the class should be just as
useful for writers of fiction. Basically, it'll go like this: I’ll give you a prompt,
a suggestion meant to spark something or get you started; you’ll write for a short
time; and you’ll share your work with the class (or not). Meanwhile, I’ll be trying
to help you identify what’s unique and exciting in your work, as well as what may
be getting in your way. If everything works the way it’s supposed to be, you’ll leave
Southampton with a fistful of stories started, and the will and inspiration to do
the writing you’re meant to do.
Matthew Klam - Be Obsessed - A Workshop for Creative Writers: Mary McCarthy said, “We all live in suspense, from day to day, from hour to hour;
in other words, we are the hero of our own story.” In this workshop we'll examine
structure in the way a carpenter might study a beautiful house. We'll look at half
page essays and eyewitness accounts, longform journalism, chapters of books, comics,
sections of plays, and whatever else inspires us. We’ll read Allison Bechdel, Kiese
Laymon, Jo Ann Beard, Mary Gaitskill, and Tessa Hadley, as well as Baldwin, Tolstoy,
Chekhov, and many others. We’ll discuss writing that is confessional, disruptive,
funny, intimate, and intense; we’ll read paragraphs made of lists, pages of pure dialogue,
stories born of hard won observation, inheritance, experience, and psychological insight.
We’ll workshop your stories in a helpful, constructive manner, and explore the motive
behind your fixations, and why you’re hooked on this particular person, feeling, or
memory.
Beth Nguyen - Memoir:
Whether you’re writing a memoir, memoir-essays, or something in between, this workshop
will help you navigate the process. We will talk about structure, ethical concerns
(how do we know what we should write? how do we write about other people?), perspective,
and more, aiming to find a sense of direction and understanding, all within a supportive
environment geared toward discussion, openness, and inspiration. Participants can
submit a first chapter or beginning pages of a longer work, or a stand-alone piece.