CNF 06 — Memoir for Absolute Beginners
Quarter: Spring
Instructor(s): Caroline Goodwin
Date(s): Apr 2—Jun 4
Class Recording Available: Yes
Class Meeting Day: Wednesdays
Class Meeting Time: 6:00—8:30 pm (PT)
Tuition: $1000
Refund Deadline: Apr 4
Unit(s): 2
Enrollment Limit: 18
Status: Closed
Quarter: Spring
Day: Wednesdays
Duration: 10 weeks
Time: 6:00—8:30 pm (PT)
Date(s): Apr 2—Jun 4
Unit(s): 2
Tuition: $1000
Refund Deadline: Apr 4
Instructor(s): Caroline Goodwin
Enrollment Limit: 18
Recording Available: Yes
Status: Closed
Have you been postponing your memoir project, unsure about where to begin or how to organize the true stories of your life? If so, you are certainly not alone. This class, designed for anyone who wants guidance, moral support, and inspiration, will begin with prompts that simply get us to the page. Working to abandon those unhelpful voices that block us, students will explore their own material: the images, characters, and experiences of the past. For example, writing fully about a single memory can give us a way to think through what it means to be where we are today, and how a compelling story might grow from a particular moment. In the second half of the course, students will work in groups of 3-4, submitting up to 1000 words per week for light student and instructor feedback. Using two contemporary memoirs: Cracked Pot by Vince Montague and How to Live: A Memoir in Essays by Kelle Groom, along with Lisa Dale Norton's craft guide, Shimmering Images, we will move together through the beginning stages of this most satisfying and worthwhile artistic endeavor. Our intentions will be to support one another's efforts, make a safe space for creativity, and engage in a deep conversation about the writing life that will empower us to see our memoirs through.
This course is for anyone who has started a memoir, has always wanted to write one, or wants support in the decision-making process required in memoir writing.
CAROLINE GOODWIN
Author
Caroline Goodwin attended Stanford as a Stegner Fellow in poetry in 1999. Her most recent books are Madrigals, Matanuska, and Old Snow, White Sun. Her essay "The Money Place" was listed as a notable essay of 2021 in The Best American Essays, and her essay "A Widow's Guide to OKCupid" was runner-up in the Barry Lopez Creative Nonfiction contest at Cutthroat Journal in 2019. From 2014 to 2016, she served as the first poet laureate of San Mateo County. Goodwin recieved an MFA from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. Textbooks for this course:
(Required) Vince Montague, Cracked Pot (ISBN 978-1957607092)
(Required) Kelle Groom, How to Live (ISBN 978-1946482839)
(Required) Lisa Dale Norton, Shimmering Images (ISBN 978-0312382926 )
(Required) Kelle Groom, How to Live (ISBN 978-1946482839)
(Required) Lisa Dale Norton, Shimmering Images (ISBN 978-0312382926 )