Essays? Esssssays? Yes! (Yes-Says...Ha!)
Because I Know You Have So Much to Write About.... xo
Working on a personal essay can be a uniquely wonderful approach, among literary forms. It's so…satisfying.
I write short stories, novels and essays. I'm here for all of it.
Essays are the form I turn to when I want to speak my mind directly.
In writing an essay, a person can use all the tools and techniques of novels and stories, coupled with the directness of speaking frankly.
What concerns do you carry in your mind and spirit? What love? What questions trouble you late at night? What sentences reverberate in memory?
What is it that you'd really like to talk about? Write about?
When we learn to write essays in school, too often they're taught almost as a form of punishment--there's always a word or page length requirement, as though length and the power of communication have any clear relationship. There's often a demand for particular research or resources, coupled with a particular format, and the work is always due by a particular date...ready to be graded, judged...
Out in the "real world" an essay becomes a complex literary form not easily defined or harnessed by these arbitrary markers. An essay is a literary container for saying what an author really wants to say, speaking to an audience. It's a space for clarity, for ambiguity, for love and comedy, for deeply felt pain, for being human.
There's a market for literary essays.
I've found publication in the New York Times, the Paris Review, Oregon Humanities Magazine, The Rumpus and more.
The form is so vital, fundamental and human.
I'm leading a workshop for those who'd like to write essays and find supportive listeners offering constructive input.
I'm offering one version of this workshop online and another in person, to accommodate those both out of town and in town (in Portland, Oregon.)
The workshops are on Sundays. The online workshop is 10-12, Pacific Time.
The in-person version is 5:30-7:30, also on Sundays.
In addition, there's a reading-and-discussion group, for talking about essays as a form.
For those who choose to work with me--I realize time is precious, and your writing matters. I'm here to support your work in process.
Getting the word out! It's coming up soon.
Can’t wait to work with those of you who have joined!
xo
Space is limited. I may or may not offer this again.
For now, you can find the information here:
Hi Monica,
Is the online essay class still a go for this Sunday (2/18)? East Coast times would be 1-3Pm, right? Or changed to another start date?
Thanks
Rob
I can't wait to learn!