The Lyric Essay: Borrowed Forms for Play and Discovery
$300
The lyric essay welcomes experimentation, but it also borrows from some set forms not normally associated with a traditional essay: the list; the collage; the braid; the hermit crab. Surprisingly, at times, a strict formal structure allows for more tender material to find a home in your writing.
In this generative online writing class, each class will be devoted to exploring a different form of the lyric essay. We will glean our invitations for writing from sample essays and end the course with a reading of short lyric essays written during our time together.
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.
Perrin Kerns
Perrin Kerns has been teaching creative writing for over 35 years. She currently teaches literature, creative writing, and digital storytelling for various institutions, including Portland State University, Fishtrap Writers Conference, and Literary Arts. Her own creative work has taken her from the lyric essay to digital storytelling to personal narrative documentaries based on her lyric essays. She won the Director’s Choice award for her documentary, “Between Sasquatch and Superman: Living with Down’s Syndrome”, from the San Francisco Shorts festival and Best Short Animation for her film about her miscarriage from the Oregon Independent Film Festival.
