Grief and the Lyric Essay

Throughout history, writers have used lyrical techniques to access states of consciousness we associate with grief. Lyrical writing prioritizes music, rhythm, and emotion over the narrative arc. The goal of this course is to find entry into writing through reading, conversation,and various prompts and exercises to catalyze memory and thinking. We will consider how writers crafting stories and poetry about grief use lyricism, discursiveness, fragmentation, and silence to embody writing content through form. Participant should be prepared to write a lot! Prompts and exercises will allow students to access various parts of memory. In a short period of time, we will get to know one another and provide a sounding board for our stories in a safe space.

We will also look at excerpts from these books:

Don’t Let me Be Lonely, by Claudia Rankine
The Red Parts by Maggie Nelson
Bluets by Maggie Nelson
Space, in Chains by Laurie Kiseschked

Access Program
We want our writing classes 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 registrations at a reduced rate. The access program for writing classes covers 60% of the class tuition. Most writing classses have at least one access spot available. Contact Susan Moore at susan@literary-arts.org if you would like to take a writing class at the Access Rate.

Wendy Noonan’s poetry has appeared in many journals, including Painted Bride Quarterly, Muzzle, Crazy Horse and 2River View. Her creative nonfiction, forthcoming in Diagram, was also featured in Meridian Journal as one of two finalists for their 2020 Editor’s Choice prize. Wendy teaches at Pacific Northwest College of Art and tutors at Portland Community College.