We are pleased to announce our latest Image Intensive, an opportunity to dive deeper into your craft, guided by faculty from our community who understand the unique impulses and challenges facing artists at the intersection of art, faith, and mystery.

Image journal curates, cultivates, celebrates, and convenes writing that “grapples with the mystery of being human.” It can be intimidating to tackle life’s big questions: faith, love, meaning, obligation, the why of it all. That fear can stem from a misunderstanding of personal narrative—we’re not so much experts as characters, questioners, and, quite often, witnesses. Sometimes we need to pay more attention to the larger contexts—places, histories, people—out of which we write, and affirm our faith in the power of our human stories to lens the universe. This workshop aims to unlock the skills and permission it takes to write our largest personal “human mysteries.” Among other readings, this Image Intensive will include a discussion of Joel Cuthbertson's review of Christian Wiman's latest book, Zero at the Bone, from Image issue 122.

Meeting Schedule:

Week 1: October 15 & 17
Week 2: October 22 & 24
Week 3*: October 29
Week 4*: November 7
Week 5: November 12 & 14

*Note: this class will not meet on Thursday, October 31, and Tuesday, November 5, due to Halloween and Election Day.

Week One | What are each of our foundational questions and flood subjects? Who are we as authors? What would we write if we wrote the most ambitious work we can think of?

Week Two | Where are we writing from? We will consider place, history, and author position as ways to expand our literary vision.

Weeks Three & Four | Considerations of voice and form. How can forms like the braided essay, the hermit crab, short forms, and the lyric support ambitious work? How can the writing itself affect meaning?

Week Five | This week we draw together the work of the previous weeks, sharing our new writing, considering best practices for successful revision, and discussing literary publication.

We will be exploring these ideas and reading and writing together in a small group setting, capped at 12 students, which will include:

• Eight sessions: two 90-minute Zoom sessions each week for four weeks, exploring ideas, giving feedback, and reading and writing together in an intimate and supportive setting.
• A comprehensive discussion of literary publication.
• Individual manuscript review (3,000 word maximum) with Susanne Paola Antonetta.
• Each student will leave this course with one revised and one newly finished nonfiction piece.

Audience:

This workshop is for nonfiction writers of all levels. The best workshop experiences center the author, provide clear and compassionate feedback, and are about more than the piece at hand. If you are yearning for a compassionate writing community, seeking to learn more about yourself, hoping for a thorough review of your work, or wishing for a supportive place to grow in your craft, this workshop is for you.