Course description:

Seeking writers who are interested in writing about the body in all its joys, struggles, and manifestations.

Running for 8 weeks, “The Literature of the Body” will explore the many angles of body writing, from medical narratives to L’ecriture feminine, from the body in ecstasy to the body in pain. Birth, illness, desire, death, violence, body image, adrenaline, pleasure, disability, all of the above, more than the above—the body is a site of truth, too often of shame, and always of life’s most intense extremities. Yet the body is not easily translated into language, often leaving writers to ignore their characters’ (and their own) bodies and the depths hidden there.

This course will focus dually on generative writing exercises and discussions/readings (all free, short and online) about and from inspirational writers who have helped bridge the gap between language and physical experience. Whether you are uncomfortable writing sex scenes, are trying to move beyond cliches in telling a story about illness or abuse, or whether you just want to challenge yourself to root your writing more in the physical, this course will allow you to unfurl and explore in a safe, supportive and contextualized environment.

Give us eight Thursday nights and we will help ignite your imagination and unblock ways to tap into the fact your body is your truest writing guide. $900 tuition; 15 spots, both nonfiction and fiction writers welcome!