Writing Workshops

The Dynamic "I": Crafting First-Person Fiction with Peter Kispert

$295

4 Sessions

Out of stock

Once a week Thursdays, 7:00 pm EDT - 9:00 pm EDT November 7 to December 5, 2024

Online via Zoom

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There is a seductive allure to the first-person narrative: “I am telling you a story.” Confiding, persuasive, urgent, unreliable, or confessional, fiction in the first-person might seem like a natural choice or even the simplest. But this point of view carries unique narrative challenges and opportunities, limitations, and power.

In this four-week workshop, we’ll read stories that take fresh approaches in their first-person tellings, and craft essays that deepen our understanding of the sometimes-slippery “I.” We’ll generate starting points for new stories through in-class exercises and spend the majority of the course workshopping our original short fiction, or a standalone excerpt from a longer work. We’ll consider when the first person might be a strong narrative choice, how the elements of craft can work in tandem, not isolation, and strategies for revision.

Course Outline: We’ll read and discuss stories by Amy Hempel, Garth Greenwell, Megan Mayhew Bergman, and other writers. Each week will include a lecture, reading discussion, student workshop, and writing exercise/take-home prompt.

This course is held online via Zoom. There is no meeting on November 28th.

Led by

Peter Kispert

Peter Kispert

Peter Kispert is the author of the story collection I Know You Know Who I Am (Penguin Books), named a best book of the year by Elle, O, The Oprah Magazine, and Electric Literature. His writing has recently appeared in Esquire, the New York Times Book Review, Sewanee Review, Story, and elsewhere. He lives in New York.

About this series

Writing Workshops

We strive to make our classes the most inviting and rewarding available, offering an intimate environment to study with award-winning, world-class writers. Each class is specially designed by the instructor, so whether you’re a fledgling writer or an MFA graduate polishing your novel, you’ll find a perfect fit here.

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