Minding the Gaps, Mapping the Story: The Art of Lyric Essaying

What is a lyric essay? Is it a form, a genre, a quality of writing? These questions have confounded poets and essayists alike since the late 1990s, when the term “lyric essay” first made its debut in the pages of Seneca Review. Since then, writers have continued to blur the line between poetry and prose, writing powerful lyric essays that resist traditional ideas about what the essay can do and be.

In this 6-week workshop, Zoë Bossiere, coeditor of the new anthology, The Lyric Essay as Resistance: Truth from the Margins (Wayne State University Press, 2023) will guide writers through approaches to crafting lyric essays that play with content, style, design, and form. These interactive sessions include analysis of contemporary lyric essays, generative prompts with dedicated in-class writing time, and an opportunity to share written work with other writers.

Instructor: Zoë Bossiere (they/she) is a writer, editor, and teacher from Tucson, Arizona. They are the managing editor of Brevity: A Journal of Concise Literary Nonfiction and co-editor of the anthologies The Best of Brevity and The Lyric Essay as Resistance: Truth from the Margins. Bossiere's debut book, Cactus Country: A Boyhood Memoir, is forthcoming in May 2024 from Abrams Books. Learn more at zoebossiere.com

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Details: Minding the Gaps, Mapping the Story: The Art of Lyric Essaying meets Tuesdays March 5, March 12, March 19, March 26, April 2, and April 9 from 6:30-8:30pm remotely online via Zoom.

Prerequisites: None

Genre: Nonfiction

Level: All levels

Format: Generative workshop with writing in class and outside of class and group sharing

Location: This class takes place in person remotely online via Zoom.

Size: Limited to 12 participants (including scholarships)

Suggested Sequence: Follow this class with another generative nonfiction writing workshop or a feedback course.

Scholarships: Two scholarship spots are available for this class for writers in Northeast Ohio. Apply by December 11.

Cancellations & Refunds: Cancel at least 48 hours in advance of the first class meeting to receive a full refund. Email info@litcleveland.org.

Registration Fee

$180 - Non-Member Registration

$120 - Registration with Member Discount

I'd also like to help out other writers with a donation to the Word for Word Scholarship Fund. (This fund provides low- and limited-income writers in NE Ohio with access to our classes)

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