Carmen Maria Machado: Her Body And Other Parties and In the Dream House
$230
This Delve for Writers will use Machado’s short stories and memoir as a jumping off point for our own horror and fairy tale infused fiction and non-fiction writing. We will find the surreal within the mundane details of life and celebrate that. This four week class will be organized thematically. Each week will feature close reading of the techniques and approaches that make Machado’s writing leap from the page and then the second hour will be time to write to a prompt and discuss and share writing.
Reading Schedule
Week 1 Sex and Death
Readings: “Inventory” and “Especially Heinous” from Her Body. “Romance Novel,” “Lesbian Cult Classic,” and “Death Wish” from In the Dream House
Writing prompt: Write your own story in the form of a pop culture summary or use the structure of an inventory or list to describe an experience.
Week 2 Appetite
Readings: “Real Women Have Bodies” from Her Body. “First Thanksgiving,” “Stoner Comedy,” and “Memory Palace” from In the Dream House.
Writing prompt: Write a short horror tale with food at the center of it.
Week 3 Cabin in the Woods
Readings: “Cabin in the Woods,” “Nightmare on Elm Street,” “Cosmic Horror,” and “Demonic Possession” from In the Dream House.
Writing Prompt: Write about a place that scares you in the second person
Week 4 Choose Your Own Adventure
Readings: Come to class ready to share anything from Her Body or In the Dream House that we haven’t discussed yet. We will also choose a writing prompt that emerges from those discussions.
Delve for Writers is an occasional Literary Arts seminar series focused on close readings of literature to analyze craft, structure, and style, designed for writers to apply these tools to their own work.
Access Program
We want our writing classes and seminars to be accessible to everyone, regardless of income and background. We understand that our tuition structure can present obstacles for some people. Our Access Program offers writing class and seminar tuitions at a reduced rate. Most writing classes have at least one access spot available.
Please apply here for access rate tuition. Contact Susan Moore at susan@literary-arts.org if you have questions.
Liaison position
Every in-person class and seminar at Literary Arts has one liaison position. Liaisons perform specific duties for each class meeting. If you are a liaison for a class or seminar, the full amount of your tuition is covered by Literary Arts.
Apply here for the liaison position.
Pamela Pierce
Pamela Pierce is an Assistant Professor at OHSU and creative writer. She is an experienced facilitator of Narrative Medicine sessions and has also taught for Movie Madness University. As a native Tucsonan, she's been reading and thinking about Barbara Kingsolver's works for over twenty years. Pam specializes in asking great questions.
