$80
“The miniature, a working, functioning complete world unto itself, is not merely a ‘small’ or ‘brief’ thing or a ‘shortened’ form of something larger,” writes Lia Purpura in a craft essay titled “On Miniatures.” Purpura’s statement also applies to the subgenre of nonfiction sometimes referred to as “short shorts” or “flash essays.” This workshop focuses on various approaches that writers of concise nonfiction use to create “a working, functioning complete world unto itself.” We will study several model essays, discuss forms and techniques, and explore these approaches through brief in-class writing prompts.
REBECCA MCCLANAHAN’s eleventh book, In the Key of New York City: A Memoir in Essays, appeared from Red Hen Press in fall 2020. Her work has appeared in Best American Essays, Best American Poetry, Georgia Review, Gettysburg Review, Boulevard, Brevity, The Sun, River Teeth, and in anthologies published by Simon & Schuster, Beacon, Norton, and Bedford/St. Martin, among others. Recipient of two Pushcart prizes, the Glasgow Award in Nonfiction, the Wood Prize from Poetry Magazine, (twice) the Carter Prize for the Essay, and the N.C. Governor’s Award for Excellence in Education, she teaches in the MFA programs of Rainier Writing Workshop and Queens University. She can be reached at www.RebeccaMcClanahanWriter.com.