Dig down into your exisitng essay drafts by adding both foundational and innovative elements of the essay you’ll learn in this 6-week class. You’ll practice crafting a distinct persona (also known as the “I” character or narrator) for each essaay; imbuing your personal experience with universal meaning and reader connection; as well as how the inclusion of intertextuality and speculation expands your essaying and reflects the writer’s mind at work. The class will alternate between craft lectures and discussions of the model essays one week, followed by Proud Moments the next, when you’ll share excerpts from your writing with the class and receive encouraging feedback from the group and highlights of effective choices in your writing from me. This is a class requested by former Essay Station students, a group of wonderful women and writers, so there’s only one spot left. If you’re interested, please contact me before registering.

This four-week class explores and interrogates the adventures and joys our younger selves experienced, the memories (clear and hazy), the discoveries of crushes and loves and desires, searches for freedom, private worlds, and the ways we tried (and failed) to find our truest selves.

Week 1: Points of View for the Younger Self | Week 2: Self, Identity, Discovery

Week 3: Nonlinear Structures | Week 4: Combining past & present selves + questioning memory

Each week, you’ll read model essays by writers, and you’ll write experiments (350-800 words) , share a section of your experiment during Saturday’s class (optional), and receive weekly feedback from me. The Zoom link and model essays will be emailed to you before class begins.