To essay is to attempt. Informed and animated by the singular life experience and voice of its author, the personal essay represents an attempt to engage deeply with an idea, a problem, a preoccupation, in the most powerful language possible. Personal essay writing presents a particularly rich opportunity to luxuriate in thought—about whatever troubles you, excites you, or otherwise keeps you awake at night.

There will be discussions of assigned readings from essayists including Michel de Montaigne, George Orwell, M.F.K. Fisher, and Katha Pollitt. Following these examples, I will assign regular exercises to help develop dialogue, characters, scenes, and structure. Each student will write and revise one short essay (up to 1500 words), and one longer essay (up to 3500 words) to share with the group for critique.