CNF 115 W — Mapping Time: Memoir Workshop
Quarter: Winter
Instructor(s): Mike Scalise
Date(s): Jan 14—Mar 18
Class Recording Available: Yes
Class Meeting Day: Wednesdays
Class Meeting Time: 6:00—7:00 pm (PT)
Tuition: $1000
Refund Deadline: Jan 16
Unit(s): 2
Enrollment Limit: 18
Status: Closed
Quarter: Winter
Day: Wednesdays
Duration: 10 weeks
Time: 6:00—7:00 pm (PT)
Date(s): Jan 14—Mar 18
Unit(s): 2
Tuition: $1000
Refund Deadline: Jan 16
Instructor(s): Mike Scalise
Enrollment Limit: 18
Recording Available: Yes
Status: Closed
At heart, every memoir is a story about time—how we remember it and how we guide the reader through it. Yet shaping time on the page is one of the memoirist’s toughest challenges. Writing chronologically doesn’t always work, but creating a nonlinear story without losing clarity can be difficult. In this course, you’ll discover how time can serve as the foundation of your memoir’s structure, exploring strategies to shape individual chapters and build coherence and momentum across the whole.
We’ll study acclaimed memoirs like Margo Jefferson’s Negroland, Terese Marie Mailhot’s Heart Berries, and Lidia Yuknavitch’s The Chronology of Water to see how each bends time to powerful effect. Through lectures, prompts, and workshopping of up to 6,000 words, you’ll leave with strategies for using time as your memoir’s architect—and a stronger sense of how best to guide readers through your story.
We’ll study acclaimed memoirs like Margo Jefferson’s Negroland, Terese Marie Mailhot’s Heart Berries, and Lidia Yuknavitch’s The Chronology of Water to see how each bends time to powerful effect. Through lectures, prompts, and workshopping of up to 6,000 words, you’ll leave with strategies for using time as your memoir’s architect—and a stronger sense of how best to guide readers through your story.
MIKE SCALISE
Author
Mike Scalise’s memoir, The Brand New Catastrophe, received the Christopher Doheny Award from the Center for Fiction and praise from The New York Times, BuzzFeed, and The Baltimore Sun. He’s written for The New York Times, Bon Appétit, The Paris Review Daily, The Georgia Review, and elsewhere. He received an MFA in creative writing from George Mason University and was the Philip Roth Writer in Residence at Bucknell University. Textbooks for this course:
There are no required textbooks; however, some fee-based online readings may be assigned.