The Virginia G. Piper
Center for Creative Writing

In this True Story workshop, participants will learn and apply basic journalism skills to their creative non-fiction, particularly memoir. Students will begin by brainstorming ideas for their own true stories. The class will be interactive, as students share ideas and get feedback from the instructor and classmates. Through exercises and workshopping, participants will hone interviewing skills, moving on to writing dialogue.

Re-lineate, incorporate, untranslate, narrate, collaborate, investigate and capsize your ailing poem. Participants will look at the work of Brenda Hillman, Sean Singer, Latasha Nevada Diggs, Tusiata Avia, Maureen Seaton/Neil de la Floor/Kristine Snodgrass, Jayy Dodd to illustrate charged ways to reinvigorate stale or unformed material. Please bring a poem that needs resurrection and be prepared to celebrate at its innate genius – and play.

The goal of this course is to give you a basic understanding of the publishing industry: how it is structured, how to navigate it, and how to make the best choices for your writing life and the life of your books. You are a writer, an artist—the most important thing you can do is focus on your work. But when the time comes to bring your writing to an audience, a host of other skills and knowledge come into play. While it’s true that the publishing world exists to support and promote art, it is also a business; agents, editors, and publishers must be mindful of the market and of money.