Three Tuesdays: November 7, 14, and 21 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET Online
Lecture and Discussion with Writing Exercises. This live class will have the first two classes recorded and available for viewing for a week after each class.
In Latin, the word 'essay' originally meant to 'test the quality of'. To write an essay is an act of attempt; of experimentation. In this course, writers will attempt to explore and understand a life event, occurrence, or happening — personal or public — with words and through different literary devices, namely extended metaphor, and perspective.
In each class, students will briefly discuss an excerpt from an essay that exemplifies the device being used, then complete a writing exercise to build upon the piece of writing they begin in the first class. By the end of the course, writers and the subject they are exploring will be transformed by their own experimental findings and truths.
Open to beginner and intermediate writers.
Three Tuesdays: November 7, 14, and 21 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET Online
Week One: Introduction to Essay, Detail and Specificity
Citizen: An American Lyric, by Claudia Rankine (9781555976903)
“The Fourth State of Matter” by Jo Ann Beard *Content warning: gun violence, self harm*
Week Two: Metaphor, Audience and Tense
Misfits, by Michaela Coehl (9781250843432)
“A Small Place” by Jamaica Kincaid from The Best American Essays 2013, edited by Cheryl Strayed (9780544103887)
Week Three: Workshop
Students can share their piece or a portion of their working essay at the end of the course for feedback and support. Optional; not required.
Required Reading:
Best American Essays 2023 by Vivian Gornick (9780063288843)
Optional Reading:
Citizen: An American Lyric, by Claudia Rankine (9781555976903)
Misfits, by Michaela Coehl (9781250843432)
Best American Essays 2013 by Cheryl Strayed (9780544103887)
Mia Brabham is an author and staff writer at Shondaland.com. Her debut book, Note to Self, is a short collection of personal musings that is in the hands of readers all over the world. Her fiction and nonfiction work has been published in Cosmopolitan, Huffington Post, Thought Catalog, California’s Emerging Writers: An Anthology of Fiction and more. When she's not working, Mia is most likely gathering a group of friends for karaoke, planning a day trip with her fiance, Dan, or writing essays for her newsletter and blog. You can find her on Instagram and Twitter, or at bymiabrabham.com.
REFUND POLICY: Please note that we can issue class refunds up until seven (7) days before the first class session.
