Wednesday, June 13, 6:30 p.m.– 9:00 p.m.
Explore your creative side in this session, one of a series of stand-alone classes with prompts designed to get your subconscious flowing. Through guided exercises, we’ll focus on writing about the variety of losses we have encountered in our lives, the large and small absences that inform our landscape. Elizabeth Bishop calls it “the art of losing”; where is the art in saying goodbye? No writing experience necessary! This is a great class for beginners and also for those fiction writers and/or memoirists with more experience who might be stuck in their current projects and are looking for a jolt of inspiration. Our goal is to have fun in a supportive, nurturing environment and to go home with several promising pieces to work on further. Please bring lots of paper and pen/pencil or a fully charged computer. Note: new exercises!
The Vintage Book of Contemporary American Poetry edited by J.D. McClatchy
*Please note: Though this is a poetry book, you are not required to write poetry.
Leslie Pietrzyk published her third novel, Silver Girl, in February 2018. This Angel on My Chest, her collection of linked short stories about the death of her first husband, won the 2015 Drue Heinz Literature Prize and was named by Kirkus Reviews as one of the best short story collections of 2015. Her short fiction and essays have appeared/are forthcoming in many publications, including The Washington Post Magazine, Salon, Southern Review, The Hudson Review, Gettysburg Review, The Sun, Washingtonian, and Cincinnati Review. Pietrzyk is a member of the core fiction faculty at the Converse low-residency MFA program and lives in Alexandria, Virginia. More information: www.lesliepietrzyk.com
REFUND POLICY: Please note that we can issue class refunds up until seven (7) days before the first class session.