WRITE
ATTEND
READ
SUPPORT
Meet THe Team
Use code EARLYBIRD through September 10 for 10% off! Members, check your email for your special 20% off limited-time discount code.
This 6-week creative nonfiction class is designed for writers who have some experience writing personal essays and would like to push their work further, honing the craft, elevating the language, and playing with prose and structure. Each week will focus on less conventional essay forms, such as lyric essays, braided essays, hermit crab essays, numbered essays, and prose poems. We will discuss a wide range of work by CJ Hauser, Ross Gay, Eula Biss, Traci Brimhall, Margaret Atwood, and Ada Limon, among others, deconstructing the readings as well as our own essays—and reconstructing our thinking about the genre.
In this generative course, prompt-based essays will be assigned each week as we experiment with different forms. A large portion of our time together will be dedicated to workshopping, so students will have the opportunity to receive feedback from peers while strengthening their own editing skills. You will not only come away with several new pieces as well as direction for revision, but our objective is to gain a deeper understanding and a more expansive view of the power and unlimited possibilities of the personal essay.
• In-Class Writing Lift: Light
• Homework: Required
• Workshopping Drafts: Intensive
Christie Grotheim’s debut novel, The Year Marjorie Moore Learned to Live, was published in 2019 by Heliotrope Books and was a finalist for best new novel from the Women’s Fiction Writers Association. Her stories have been featured in SWING, The Harpy Hybrid Review, Salon.com, The New York Observer, Mr. Beller’s Neighborhood, Petrolicious.com, and The Dodge, among others. In 2020, Grotheim and her husband relocated from Manhattan to Ashland City, where after a couple of long years of renovations and manual labor, she’s finally realizing her dream of hosting writers’ retreats on the property (Blue Spring Creek Retreats @bluepsringcreekretreats), in collaboration with The Porch, where she’s also a creative writing instructor.
"Christie Grotheim provides incredibly helpful feedback and constructive ideas for students of all levels during class discussions. She is a thoughtful reader who provides great materials on elements of craft. I look forward to taking classes with her again!"
“Christie Grotheim’s experience as an author creates an atmosphere that is open and constructive, and, as a reader, she provides thoughtful critiques that help you reassess your own work with a fresh perspective. She is approachable and enthusiastic. But, equally important, she’s a fun hang!”
"Christie's class was the perfect mix of instruction, practice, and discussion."
