In this literature and creative writing course, we’ll read The Best American Essays 2021, an anthology of essays that serve as “a powerful time capsule of 2020” (according to the publisher). The essays we will read make their own attempts at understanding, giving shape to, challenging, and relating to, the events of March 2020 through that year’s end.

As we read this anthology — one without the word “autobiography” in its title but with plenty of autobiography within its pages — we’ll keep an eye on how writing a story of oneself also necessarily involves writing the story of a moment, a country, a history, and a society; how writing autobiographically is bolstered by being present to and for our surrounds. 

We’ll read, discuss, imitate, and take our own leave from essays by Elizabeth Alexander, Hilton Als, Tony Hoagland, Patricia Lockwood, Barry Lopez, Dawn Lundy Martin, Claire Messud, Wesley Morris, Jesmyn Ward, and more. 

This class is ideal for creative writers who are eager to write their way into their own true-to-life experiences while reading and analyzing the craft of published essays. In both our reading and our writing, we will stay curious about this term — “autobiography” — as it manifests in 21st century creative nonfiction (lyric essay, memoir, personal narrative, and more). This course will be equal parts literature study and experiment in autobiographical writing, with written assignments falling on both sides of this line, and occasionally blurring it. Expect to write analytically, descriptively, personally, and curiously.