Class

The Naive and Sentimental Essayist

Do you ever find yourself “writing through” a preoccupation of your mind or soul, trying to work out an answer to some question by writing about it? Does your writing flow naturally or are your prone to overthink?

Based on works by Orhan Pamuk and Freidrich Schiller, this class explores distinct approaches to creativity in every writer: the naïve—that free, natural act of creation—and the sentimental—that self-awareness which cannot help but reflect. When do we write uninhibited and when do we reflect? Why are we drawn to storytelling or to ponderance? And how do both function as means to move through the world? Taking inspiration from Anne Lamott's Bird by Bird, Susan Sontag’s “Project for a trip to China” and Claudia Rankine's Citizen, we will experiment with our own balance of naïve and sentimental inquiry.

No class on July 2.

This class takes place in-person, at the Loft at Open Book; we encourage participants to be fully vaccinated and masked in the interest of everyone’s safety. Please see the Loft’s website for the most up to date information about the Loft’s COVID policies.