In this intermediate workshop, we will study the essential elements of literary nonfiction through the practices and provocations of mostly living, working writers who represent diverse perspectives, styles, and genres: creative nonfiction, essays, memoirs, articles, criticism, commentary, lyricism, and hybrid works. Students will practice critical reading of published pieces and peer work and write literary narratives of their own. Students’ writing will be critiqued by peers in class on a rotating basis as they progress through a series of drafts and projects, including exercises, final sustained works, and revisions.

This intermediate workshop will deal with the essential elements of nonfiction writing – research, reporting, strategic choice of subject, expressive language, structure, the writer's presence in the piece. Students will read published pieces and write literary narratives of their own, beginning with short pieces and progressing to a more substantial work. Students will practice critical reading across a range of genres and periods—op-eds, reviews, personal essays, cultural and social criticism, reported stories. Students will identify and analyze key elements of literary nonfiction while articulating their intentions as writers. Students’ writing will be critiqued by peers in class on a rotating basis as they progress from short essays to a final sustained work (10-15 pages). Multiple drafts of the final project will be submitted for consideration in workshop and revised in light of constructive criticism from peers and the major themes and techniques of the course.