MEM 199 — Take the Next Steps: Memoir Workshop
Quarter: Summer
Instructor(s): John W. Evans
Date(s): Jun 23—Aug 25
Class Recording Available: Yes
Class Meeting Day: Tuesdays
Class Meeting Time: 5:30—8:00 pm (PT)
Tuition: $1000
Refund Deadline: Jun 25
Unit(s): 2
Enrollment Limit: 18
Status: Registration opens May 18, 8:30 am (PT)
Writing a memoir often begins with momentum and discovery, then slows as the work enters the “murky middle.” This course offers space to re-engage with your project and get you over that hump. For inspiration, we will study personal writing by innovative authors such as Anne Carson, Eula Biss, and Elif Batuman. Creative prompts, critical exercises, and classroom discussions will deepen your understanding of the range of forms memoir can take, including hybrids of journalism and personal writing, braided memoirs that intertwine life and expertise, and lyric memoirs. Everyone will workshop at least two short essays or one longer memoir chapter or essay, receiving feedback from both the group and instructor. You’ll walk away with renewed momentum, a stronger grasp of memoir craft, and a clear sense of how to move forward with purpose and confidence.
This course is designed for students who have completed CNF 09: “Writing the Memoir: Standing on the Shoulders of Giants” or have taken at least one memoir or personal essay course.