Sr. Sem: the Lyric Essay

In this seminar, we will read and write creative nonfiction, a broad category that includesmemoir and personal essay, literary journalism, travel writing, micro-essays (or flash nonfiction). Our focus will be particularly on lyric essays, a contemporary form that draws from and combines poetry, memoir, research writing, and the personal essay and plays inventively with fragments, juxtaposition, and association to artfully build narrative and argument. Readings will includetexts such as Claudia Rankine'sCitizen, Maggie Nelson'sBluets, Valeria Liuselli'sTell Me How It Ends, and essays by Anne Carson, Dinty Moore, and Eula Biss. Assignments will include writing exercises and research that will lead to complete essays, and much of our class time will be spent discussing student work.