Exquisite Attention: Personal Essay Workshop

How do we transform the raw material of life into art? To write a compelling personal essay, we must first learn how to pay close attention to our own experiences.

The art emerges from capturing, as vividly and precisely as possible, how those experiences changed us.

In this course, we’ll dive into the fundamentals of the personal essay form, exploring persona, world-building, pacing, scene, and voice.

We’ll study how writers with different styles, such as Vivian Gornick and Hanif Abdurraqib, approach these concepts.

In the first four weeks, students will submit brief pieces exploring techniques from narrative nonfiction, poetry, and fiction.

Then, everyone will workshop an essay (2,000-word maximum) for peer and instructor feedback.

Throughout the course, we'll draw inspiration from essayists including Roland Barthes, T Kira Madden, Susan Orlean, and Jaquira Díaz.

Expect to leave with an essay draft, a revision plan, and a deeper understanding of how careful observation shapes meaningful personal narrative.