Writers on Writing

To take as your subject writers, writing, “the writing world”—is this just annoying? Pretentious? Are there ways to do it well? Perhaps with a healthy dose of humor? In this generative session we’ll discuss and write after an array of examples across genres, including work by Sigrid Nunez, Brenda Shaughnessy, Jhumpa Lahiri, Carl Phillips, and others. We’ll think together about writer as personal vs. cultural identity, the role of the writer today vs. in the past, and the aspirations vs. limitations re: what writing can do politically. I’ll offer some prompts and we’ll experiment, digress, while trying our best not to annoy ourselves. Writers of all genres are welcome.