Over the years, creative nonfiction writers have sought to answer the question—"how best to represent my life?" Is it, as Lyn Hejinian asserts in My Life, a matter of asserting one's identity through fragmentation rather than a coherent narrative? Is it through the creation of new and hybrid modes, like Audre Lorde's biomythography in Zami: A New Spelling of My Name? How do objectivity, accuracy or ethics come into play? This nontraditional, intergenre class seeks to explore different forms and styles that have been engaged by writers and artists to construct, deform, assemble, even fabricate the subject as a means of approaching the question of 'life writing'. We will look at poetry, fiction, art and art criticism and journalism by authors such as Theresa Hak Kyung Cha, Renee Gladman, Lee Lozano, T Fleischmann, Taffy Brodesser-Akner and more. Structured around immersive reading and creative responses, emphasis will be placed on developing new and innovative approaches to composition around autobiographical or semi-autobiographical work.
- Instructor: Trisha Low