IMF 52325 Nonfiction: Spiritual Writing: Memoir W

Instructor

Gillian Parrish

Class Type

Craft & Workshop

Course Description

My coming to faith did not start with a leap but rather a series of staggers from what seemed like one safe place to another. Like lily pads, round and green, these places summoned and then held me up while I grew... – Anne Lamott

This course is designed as an introduction to spiritual writing – primarily nonfiction prose about personal transformations and attempts at understanding the divine or life force in everyday life – leading the student toward the beginnings of their own spiritual memoir (a retelling of a past, personal experience and its significance). Through craft discussions and exercises, the students will cultivate their own unique voice in spiritual writing rooted in their lives and traditions (Agnostic, Buddhist, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, New Age, etc). The first three weeks will be spent immersed in published works to spark and spur your creative journals that may then flow into your workshop pieces. Five weeks will be devoted to workshopping your own work. All weeks will integrate readings on the craft of spiritual writing as support for exploring nuances of the writing process and opening up possibilities for your own work.