Stephen van Dyck

Instructor Bio:

M.F.A., author of the experimental memoir People I've Met From the Internet (Ricochet Editions), which was nominated for the New Mexico-Arizona Book Award. Mr. Van Dyck's work has appeared in Zyzzyva, The Gay & Lesbian Review, the LA Weekly, the LA Review of Books, Hyperallergic and on Dennis Cooper's blog.

Instructor Statement:

I believe everyone has a great writer in them, although forces beyond our control often push us away from our creative selves at an early age. In my class we'll hold up a magnifying glass to the ways that observing the world and telling stories are already ongoing and vital processes in our lives: to survive, to laugh, cry and relate to others, and to carry on personal, familial, and cultural memory. We'll find our way to great writing through exercises meant to inspire you and help you get vulnerable on the page. We'll excavate our memories, obsessions and specialized knowledges to generate the unique life writings that we were meant to create. We'll read from a wide variety of authors with vastly different experiences, approaches, and styles, to help us see the range of what can be done. You'll come away from my class with a chapter of your future memoir, a portfolio of short pieces that could be expanded into future chapters, plus a trove of new tools and confidence to keep going with your project on your own.