CNF 97 — Writing Memoir: The Palace of Memory
Quarter: Spring
Instructor(s): Marisa Handler
Date(s): Apr 6—Apr 7
Class Recording Available: No
Class Meeting Day: Saturday and Sunday
Grade Restriction: No letter grade
Class Meeting Time: 10:00 am—4:00 pm (PT)
Tuition: $380
Refund Deadline: Mar 30
Unit(s): 1
Enrollment Limit: 21
Status: Closed
Quarter: Spring
Day: Saturday and Sunday
Duration: 2 days
Time: 10:00 am—4:00 pm (PT)
Date(s): Apr 6—Apr 7
Unit(s): 1
Tuition: $380
Refund Deadline: Mar 30
Instructor(s): Marisa Handler
Grade Restriction: No letter grade
Enrollment Limit: 21
Recording Available: No
Status: Closed
Memory is an incredibly rich wellspring of material, and writing is an unrivaled means of exploring it. In his Confessions, Saint Augustine wrote: “I come to fields and vast palaces of memory, where are the treasures of innumerable images.” He referred to the “memory palace” used by orators of ancient Rome as a mnemonic device for writing speeches. In this course, we will use the memory palace as a metaphor to explore the riches of our own memories. What does your memory palace look like? What waltzes in the ballroom, simmers in the kitchen, huddles in the attic?
Using guided exercises and prompts, we will write our way into the key moments of our lives. We’ll discuss how to locate memories that wield particular power in the telling and explore strategies for crafting them into captivating narratives. This class will emphasize exploration and discovery, using personal histories as material. Each student will write a short piece of memoir—an essay or prose poem—to be workshopped. We will read excerpts or essays by Richard Rodriguez, Sara Suleri, Anne Carson, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Joan Didion, and David Foster Wallace. You will emerge with pages of new work, fresh angles on some of your most powerful experiences, and a better understanding of how to effectively write about these moments.
Using guided exercises and prompts, we will write our way into the key moments of our lives. We’ll discuss how to locate memories that wield particular power in the telling and explore strategies for crafting them into captivating narratives. This class will emphasize exploration and discovery, using personal histories as material. Each student will write a short piece of memoir—an essay or prose poem—to be workshopped. We will read excerpts or essays by Richard Rodriguez, Sara Suleri, Anne Carson, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Joan Didion, and David Foster Wallace. You will emerge with pages of new work, fresh angles on some of your most powerful experiences, and a better understanding of how to effectively write about these moments.
MARISA HANDLER
Author
Marisa Handler is the author of the memoir Loyal to the Sky: Notes from an Activist, which received a Nautilus Gold Award. Her essays, fiction, journalism, and poetry have appeared in The Sun, Orion, Salon, Witness, Kosmos, and 580 Split. Handler received an MFA from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and numerous fellowships in creative writing, including a Fulbright and an Elizabeth George Foundation grant. Textbooks for this course:
(Recommended) Brenda Miller and Suzanne Paola, Tell It Slant, 3rd edition (ISBN 978-1260454598)