Compression, concision, complexity—the flash essay, like standing on a train platform in the moment of the last car’s passing. Or maybe it’s more quiet, like the last chime of a clock’s hour strike. In this class, you’ll study essays by established writers (Jaquira Díaz, Paul Lisicky, Lee Martin, Brenda Miller, Ira Sukrungruang) as well as emerging ones, and of course, you’ll write our own. We’ll focus on opening lines and images, point of view and persona, along with syntax, rhythm, and sound.