Class Description
Sometimes as memoirists we feel overwhelmed by the task of shaping our true stories, to find the difference between what Vivian Gornick calls "the situation"— the material and events that make up our life— and "the story," what we have to say about those events. Bound by truth and memory, we can conclude there’s not much room to get creative, or that there are too many incidents to choose from. But here’s the thing: we don’t have to pin down a narrative in the order that events occurred. We can switch things around, pair things together, and work associationally. The key to memoir is finding the right “slant” from which to tell your story. In this seminar we will look at a handful of successful memoirs and essays, studying their structures and arcs for ideas, and then we will try to shape our stories using these as models. Working with each other’s stories, we will find the distance necessary to see the big picture that eludes us when we are too close to the story.
Thanks to the excellent literary citizenship of our donors, scholarships are available for all GrubStreet classes. To apply, click the gray "APPLY FOR SCHOLARSHIP" button. In order to be considered for a scholarship, you must complete your application at least one week before the start date of a class. Please await our scholarship committee's decision before registering for the class. We cannot hold spots in classes, so the sooner you apply, the better. Scholarships cannot be applied retroactively.
For more detailed information about GrubStreet scholarships, including how to contribute to scholarship funds for other students, click here.
This class will take place using Zoom videoconferencing. About 15 minutes before your class is scheduled to begin, you'll receive an email from your instructor with a link to join the class meeting!
Zoom Participation:
Students are not required to turn their camera on, but are encouraged to participate any way they feel comfortable through functions such as the live chat, emoji reactions, and unmuting the microphone. Learn more about using Zoom here.
Zoom Accessibility:
We ask that instructors enable closed captioning and send a transcript of the session after class. You can also enable closed captioning at any time during the meeting. If your instructor forgets to send the transcript, just send ’em an email!