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6-week online narrative nonfiction Studio - "Page One"
“The lead—like the title—should be a flashlight that shines down into the story. A lead is a promise. It promises that the piece of writing is going to be like this. If it is not going to be so, don’t use the lead.” John McPhee in Draft No. 4: On the Writing Process.
Studio Description:
We will explore the tenets, techniques, mechanics, and craft of storytelling by doing close readings of one page (usually the first page) of longer pieces of literature. The readings selected will enrich the imagination, are layered and complex, and expand the possibilities of environmental stories.
Why only one page? Page one should be a microcosm of how you write and what you want to say, so understanding page one, helps you understand an entire story. The first page is also the most opportune time to engage the reader, for they are fresh, unencumbered by bias or boredom, knowledge or expectations.
Course Process and Goals
Through close readings, craft and criticism talks, in-class writing exercises, robust discussions about writing and the writing process, conversations with (potential) guest speakers, and one-on-one critiques, this course will focus on improving your writing, expanding the possibilities about what narrative can do, and improve your articulation and execution of the components of narrative nonfiction. I promise you will leave with more than one page of work !
Schedule
We will meet once a week for six weeks starting Tuesday, January 6 from 4:30-6pm EST, with a little wiggle room after 6 pm to continue conversations where appropriate. I will accept a minimum of 10 and a maximum of 15
Who can apply?
Scholars with a text already in-progress (manuscript, essay, article, book, etc.) in the English language. You also must be fluent in English. You are welcome to work on a scholarly text, but this studio will focus on storytelling as a means to bring that scholarship to a broader audience. Independent or unaffiliated scholars are welcome.
Submit only ONE PAGE, preferably the FIRST PAGE of your work-in-progress, a very very short bio, and a link to your website. No references required.
Your instructor
Kerri Arsenault is a literary critic, teacher, director and co-founder of The Environmental Storytelling Studio (TESS), and author of the award-winning investigative memoir, Mill Town: Reckoning with What Remains. Her writing has been published in the Boston Globe, The Paris Review, The New York Review of Books, Freeman’s, The Washington Post, and The New York Times. She instructs at The New School of the Anthropocene and is an Associate Editor for GERMINATE, an online publication from the American Society for Environmental History, forthcoming in 2025.
Her book Mill Town won the Rachel Carson Environment Book Award from the Society of Environmental Journalists, the Maine Literary Award for nonfiction, and an Inge Feltrinelli Prize, dedicated to women writers who have used their voices in defense of human rights. More info at kerri-arsenault.com
“The lead—like the title—should be a flashlight that shines down into the story. A lead is a promise. It promises that the piece of writing is going to be like this. If it is not going to be so, don’t use the lead.” John McPhee in Draft No. 4: On the Writing Process.
Studio Description:
We will explore the tenets, techniques, mechanics, and craft of storytelling by doing close readings of one page (usually the first page) of longer pieces of literature. The readings selected will enrich the imagination, are layered and complex, and expand the possibilities of environmental stories.
Why only one page? Page one should be a microcosm of how you write and what you want to say, so understanding page one, helps you understand an entire story. The first page is also the most opportune time to engage the reader, for they are fresh, unencumbered by bias or boredom, knowledge or expectations.
Course Process and Goals
Through close readings, craft and criticism talks, in-class writing exercises, robust discussions about writing and the writing process, conversations with (potential) guest speakers, and one-on-one critiques, this course will focus on improving your writing, expanding the possibilities about what narrative can do, and improve your articulation and execution of the components of narrative nonfiction. I promise you will leave with more than one page of work !
Schedule
We will meet once a week for six weeks starting Tuesday, January 6 from 4:30-6pm EST, with a little wiggle room after 6 pm to continue conversations where appropriate. I will accept a minimum of 10 and a maximum of 15
Who can apply?
Scholars with a text already in-progress (manuscript, essay, article, book, etc.) in the English language. You also must be fluent in English. You are welcome to work on a scholarly text, but this studio will focus on storytelling as a means to bring that scholarship to a broader audience. Independent or unaffiliated scholars are welcome.
Submit only ONE PAGE, preferably the FIRST PAGE of your work-in-progress, a very very short bio, and a link to your website. No references required.
Your instructor
Kerri Arsenault is a literary critic, teacher, director and co-founder of The Environmental Storytelling Studio (TESS), and author of the award-winning investigative memoir, Mill Town: Reckoning with What Remains. Her writing has been published in the Boston Globe, The Paris Review, The New York Review of Books, Freeman’s, The Washington Post, and The New York Times. She instructs at The New School of the Anthropocene and is an Associate Editor for GERMINATE, an online publication from the American Society for Environmental History, forthcoming in 2025.
Her book Mill Town won the Rachel Carson Environment Book Award from the Society of Environmental Journalists, the Maine Literary Award for nonfiction, and an Inge Feltrinelli Prize, dedicated to women writers who have used their voices in defense of human rights. More info at kerri-arsenault.com