Nonfiction
November 2-23, 2026
Tiered Tuition
$250-$600 Reserve My Spot
About the Offering
Tuesdays on November 10th, 17th, 24th and December 1st at 7pm to 9pm (Eastern)
The lyric essay is one of today’s most exciting and flexible forms of nonfiction, blending elements of memoir, poetry, criticism, and storytelling. In this generative workshop, we’ll read examples from leading essayists writing in the form and explore how they use that form in voice, and experimentation to express complex ideas and personal truths.
Through in-class writing prompts and discussion, you’ll craft your own short essays—whether autobiographical reflections, cultural critiques, or meditations on topics as varied as music, identity, memory, politics, animals, weather, or your best friend. We’ll focus on developing a unique voice while drawing inspiration from writers such as Hilton Als, William Maxwell, Sarah Manguso, Vivian Gornick, Claudia Rankine, Elizabeth Hardwick, James Baldwin, Adrienne Rich, Wayne Koestenbaum, Jamaica Kincaid and Maggie Nelson.
Open to all levels, this workshop is ideal for writers, artists, and readers interested in crossing boundaries between genres and finding new ways to approach a blank canvas.
Materials Needed
No specific materials needed for this offering.
About the Instructor/Moderator
Michael Klein has written five books of poetry, including, The Early Minutes of Without: New & Selected Poems. His new book, Happiness Ruined Everything: Essays has just been published by Galileo Press. He is a five-time finalist and two-time winner of the Lambda Literary Award in poetry, for his first book, 1990, and for editing the seminal anthology, Poets for Life: 76 Poets Respond to AIDS. He is also the author of two books of autobiography, Track Conditions, a memoir about his time on the racetrack, and The End of Being Known, essays on sex and friendship. His work has appeared in POETRY, Paris Review, American Poetry Review, Tin House, Bennington Review, FENCE, LA Review of Books, Poets & Writers and many other publications. He has taught writing at Sarah Lawrence College, Binghamton University, Hunter College, the Fine Arts Work Center Summer and for more than 20 years, as part of the MFA-in-Writing faculty at Goddard College. He currently works as a consultant and editor for people working on memoirs and poetry manuscripts.
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