Dating, that strange human experience where two lonely strangers throw caution to the wind and meet, in the brave and optimistic endeavor of finding romance, sex, and sometimes love.

From the man who arrived to our first date with a huge sticker on his car that read “Joe is Hoe!” To the man who said: “I’m just gonna quickly pee behind this tree!” while we were walking in the park. I’ve had some bazaar and disastrous first dates, and you probably had some too.

In this writing class we’ll document our tragic and - in retrospect - hilarious dates.

We want our reader to feel the cringe, horror, and utter confusion we felt during these unforgettable experiences. Describing the arch: beginning with butterflies in our stomach, the excitement and anxiety of meeting for the first time, daydreaming and expectations, then the dip! The red flags that appear everywhere: what they said, what they did! Using our humorous inner monologue throughout the manuscript, and capturing smell, sound, weather, and how the food/drink tasted at the restaurant.

We aim to write non-fiction, but “a little” embellishment never hurt anyone.

Instructor: Fatima Matar sought asylum in the United States after facing prosecution for her political and social activism in her home country Kuwait. She lives in the Cleveland area with her daughter Jori and their cat Ty. Her writing has appeared in The Wry Ronin, Acumen, The Journal, Angelic Dynamo, Further Monthly, Fleeting Magazine, Bad Language, Staples Magazine, Word, Jaffat El Aqlam, Oyster River Pages, Gordon Square Review, and OffSpring. She is currently querying literary agents for her book Detained, a memoir that relays what happened to her in Kuwait and inside the Dilley Detention Center in Texas, USA.