This OlioCourse will invite you to embrace uncertainty by walking this tightwire: Don’t be precious with your writing—but all of the writing (and the process) is potentially precious. In this workshop, you may want to kill your darlings as the Writing Gods command, but you might then resurrect or reanimate them. In this workshop, you will build something lovely and structurally sound. And then, immediately and joyfully, you will renovate and make it anew.

Our week by week curriculum:

Week I—Personal Artifacts (pre-recorded)

We will begin by looking around us to the things we carry and collect. We will closely examine these artifacts as sensory objects, recording (written and oral) the full range of our impressions—from cold analysis to fever dream.

Weeks II (live), III (pre-recorded) & IV (live)—Writing (and Rewriting) the Lyric Essay 

In weeks 2-4, we will dig into and around the histories of these objects through generative writing exercises. We will look to the lyric essay as a form—a container for the products of this excavation—supported by craft readings and mentor texts, which include works by John D’Agata and Deborah Tall, Anne Carson, Carolyn Forché, Lia Purpura, and others. During this time, participants will have opportunities to present their work and receive feedback on their work in progress.

Weeks V (pre-recorded) & VI (live)— Sound and Vision

In weeks 5 and 6, we will take our lyric essays and adapt them, adding sound and imagery to create video essays, moving poems, and/or other mixed media forms. For inspiration and support, we will look to both craft essays and a diverse array of these hybrid forms. Participants will present their adaptations in the final meeting.

OlioCourse Format 

This OlioCourse will take place on Tuesday evenings from November 9th to December 14th.

We will alternate each week between a recorded lecture from Amanda Krupman and a live Olio with the professor via zoom where we present works in progress and offer each other support and feedback in a modified workshop format.

          What to expect from the course:

• Upon signing up, you will gain access to course readings and videos hosted on Perusall, a cloud-based collaborative reading and annotation site.
• Three lectures recorded by Professor Krupman, emailed to you every other Tuesday. 
• Three live Olios with other participants, led by the professor.
• A curated list of podcasts and readings that you can use each week to supplement and enhance your experience.

To join this workshop is to enter into a community of thoughtful and caring feedback, challenges and lots of little victories. We can't wait to have you in the group!