Iowa Summer Writing Festival


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Workshop Descriptions & Instructors Marilyn Abildskov Mary Allen Kate Aspengren Thomas Fox Averill Nancy K.Barry Timothy Bascom Kyle Beachy Karen Bender Linda Bendorf Maudy Benz Venise Berry Bruce Bond David Bouchier Michael Dennis Browne Maggie Conroy Mary Cross Thomas K. Dean Amber Dermont Janet Desaulniers Kelly Dwyer Hope Edelman Josh Emmons Jill Esbaum Sarah Fay Hugh Ferrer Katie Ford Geoffrey Forsyth Cecile Goding Douglas Goetsch Sands Hall Christine Hemp Jim Heynen Rick Hillis Charles Holdefer Richard Jackson Rebecca Johns Cheryl Fusco Johnson Wayne Johnson Daniel Khalastchi Carolyn Lieberg BK Loren Peter Markus Fritz Mc Donald James McKean Gordon Mennenga Sharelle Byars Moranville Michael Morse Barbara Robinette Moss Marc Nieson Shannon Olson Diana Ossana Lon Otto Juliet Patterson Kiki Petrosino Mark Jude Poirier Leslie Carol Roberts Anjali Sachdeva Sarah Saffian Sam Samuels Sandra Scofield Mary Kay Shanley Robert Anthony Siegel Carol Spindel Karen Subach Mary Vermillion Kris Vervaecke Ashley Warlick Michelle Wildgen Bart Yates	Sarah Saffian Get Over Yourself! Writing the Personal Essay that Others Give a Damn About Weekend Workshop July 11–12 Who Dat? Bringing Your Profile Subject to Life One-Week Workshop July 12–17 Biography Get Over Yourself! Writing the Personal Essay that Others Give a Damn About Weekend Workshop July 11–12 The greatest challenge a personal writer faces is creating work that is meaningful to others. The most crucial question a personal writer has to ask in an effort to meet that challenge is, who cares? In this intensive two-day workshop, through in-depth discussions and exercises in memory-mining, perspective, and tone, we’ll chip away at the block of marble (one’s whole life) to find the statue—the narrower story that becomes a personal essay’s focus. We’ll explore ways to tell that story originally and engagingly, to achieve a uniqueness that is, at the same time, universal: How can I make this story precisely mine? And simultaneously, how can I make my story interesting even to readers who haven’t shared my experience? At the end of the weekend, you’ll emerge with an in-the-works personal essay and a plan for revision and expansion. Introspectives with a desire to communicate, at all levels of writing experience (including none), are welcome. No navel-gazers, please. Who Dat? Bringing Your Profile Subject to Life One-Week Workshop July 12–17 The profile, one of the foundations of narrative journalism, is a portrait painted in words. A profile writer serves as the reader’s eyes and ears, enabling the reader to experience the subject as palpably as one can without meeting in person. In this course, we’ll learn the interviewing and the writing aspects of the profile process: doing background research on a subject, honing interviewing techniques, coming up with secondaries, and trying on various styles, all in order to most vividly and precisely bring the subject to life on the page. We’ll also explore well-known profiles such as Lillian Ross’s “Portrait of Hemingway,” Gay Talese’s “Frank Sinatra Has a Cold,” and Bob Greene’s “Muhammad Ali is the Most Famous Man in the World.” This course is roughly half seminar (i.e. reading and discussion) and half workshop (executing a few short reporting/writing assignments and sharing them with the group). No writing to prepare in advance; all work will be new and generated during our week together. Inquisitive wordsmiths at all levels are welcome. Biography Sarah Saffian (M.F.A., Columbia University) is the author of Ithaka, her memoir of being an adoptee who was found by her birth family (Basic Books; Dell; Corbaccio). A journalism professor at the New School University, Sarah has written and edited for publications including The New York Times, The San Francisco Chronicle, Entertainment Weekly, and Slate. She has been a writer-in-residence at the Millay Colony and the Atlantic Center for the Arts, and is currently working on a novel. Visit Sarah at www.saffian.com.

	Site Map \| Welcome \| Workshops by Session Date \| Workshops by Instructor Workshops by Genre \| Registration & Housing Information \| Registration Form Sponsored by the Division of Continuing Education Iowa Summer Writing Festival C215 Seashore Hall The University of Iowa Iowa City, IA 52242 Phone 319-335-4160 FAX 319-335-4743 iswfestival@uiowa.edu Last updated on February 10, 2009