Lyric essays can seem impenetrable at first, but when done well, they have a beating heart inside of them. For aspiring writers, gaining a better understanding of what makes writing lyric (or language based) can make all prose writing stronger. This advanced creative nonfiction workshop is designed for writers of essays who are seeking to move their individual pieces to that next level. The class will spend the first four weeks with a mixture of lecture, discussion, and writing prompts. We'll first look at examples of published essays with innovative structures and poetic language. Through analysis of the published essays, participants can expect to take away a better understanding of essay structures—how form is used to both serve and uplift content—as well as a heightened attention to language at the sentence level.

In the remaining eight weeks, we will take the tools we've learned and apply them to workshop participant's essays in order to excavate each essay's own beating heart. A workshop is only as good as its participants, and workshopping nonfiction is an inherently vulnerable act, so students should come to class fully prepared and ready to participate in a supportive, inclusive, anti-racist, and anti-ableist manner. Though the goals of the class are serious, this will be a dynamic, energetic, and fun virtual community. For the purposes of completing a manuscript for this class, in our allotted time together, students should aim to write a minimum of 1,000 words per week. If you cannot commit yourself to the full twelve-week plan, please reconsider whether this is the right class for you, and explore other Loft class options.

No class on Nov 23.

All Classes listed on the Loft website take place in Central Standard Time (CST); make sure you understand your time zone, and adjust accordingly.

Click here to register!

Video link: Hennepin County