Nate Dern

Instructor Bio:

WGA member whose credits include The Tonight Show, Mr. Student Body President, and Comedy Central's Every Damn Day. Author of Not Quite a Genius, a collection of personal essays and pieces of short humor. His writing has been published in New York Magazine, Outside Magazine, The Atlantic, Vice, McSweeney’s, The New Yorker’s Daily Shouts and elsewhere.

Instructor Statement:

“I think it can be tremendously refreshing if a creator of literature has something on his mind other than the history of literature so far. Literature should not disappear up its own asshole, so to speak.” Kurt Vonnegut said that in an interview he conducted with himself in The Paris Review. Isn’t that fun? If it strikes you as fun, then I just might be the teacher for you. I love that quote because I find it to be a great reminder that when we write, it should be because we have something we want to try to say, not because we’re trying to get a stamp of approval from some imagined literary establishment. I’ve had the great fortune of getting to write in many different professional settings — as a sketch writer for live theater at the Upright Citizens Brigade, as a storyteller in the form of creative nonfiction published in magazines that eventually became a book, as a staff writer for late night television, and even, most recently, as a writer for a video game. Throughout it all, my guiding principle has been to follow the fun. I have found again and again that the best work comes when I’ve followed genuine passion, interest or excitement. I strive to foster a supportive and respectful class environment where students feel empowered to follow their our passion and write something that they want to say. In other words, to write from their heart. As a teacher, I don’t see it as my job to tell you the “right” way to write. I see it as my job to collaborate with you on the journey you’re already on to discover the right writing for you.