Courses

We begin by discovering our voice; we study writing to develop our voice; we read in book reviews of a fresh voice, a strained voice, a confident voice. The writer’s voice: To what degree is it innate, to what constructed? How do we as writers cultivate a voice both authentic and compelling? In this course, we’ll bring a keen eye to issues surrounding the writing voice. We’ll explore how narrative voice influences or determines other craft elements, such as language and character. We’ll discuss how voice is itself a potent vehicle of meaning. And we’ll do exercises designed to enable you to cut out the literary and cognitive “deadwood” that may be obstructing your most authentic and compelling voice. We’ll be reading story and essay excerpts from Nathan Englander, George Saunders, Toni Morrison, David Foster Wallace, Annie Dillard, Jesmyn Ward, Sara Suleri Goodyear, and Barry Lopez. You will emerge from this course with a significantly stronger sense of your own writing voice, as well as how to render it effectively on the page.