I’m teaching two classes this summer!
sign-up info + a May update by the skin of my teeth
I spent much of May preparing for the second Chinese Adoptee Collective conference here in Philly, then at the conference itself. Only when I woke on the Wednesday following the conference did I feel the extent of my stress in its sudden absence. The pinch where my neck meets my shoulders was gone, and the tug along my spine had let go, and I had a to-do list full of things I’d told myself I would address once the conference was over.
The conference itself was wonderful. I gave my first keynote presentation, and I spoke about the history and anthropology of policymaking and the one-child policy in the People’s Republic of China. I also led my first bilingual writing workshop, inviting participants to make connections between phrases that include the word 家. I finished the weekend performing an excerpt from “The Year of the Ox” essay, one of my favorites to perform. I got mistaken for a newly minted PhD, for a 22-year-old, a 27-year-old, and a 32-year-old, and for a poet. I’m none of these things, but it was strange, for a moment, to be them in these other people’s eyes.
Now that the conference dust has (mostly) settled, I’m excited to announce that I’m teaching two writing classes this summer!
Molding Memory: Intro to Writing Personal Essays
Who: Me (an essayist and creative nonfiction editor at Sundog Lit whose work has been nominated for Best of the Net, the Pushcart Prize, and Best American Essays and was a 2022 Best of the Net nonfiction finalist) and maybe you (someone based in Philadelphia in late July/early August who is interested in the essay as a writing form).
What: Through discussion and prompt-based exercises, students will learn craft elements and forms of essay writing, playing with tense, point of view, narration, dialogue, and more to see what their memories need to appear on the page.
Students will leave with at least two shorter prompt responses and one full-length essay that will receive feedback from the instructor along with recommendations on where to submit their work, if requested.
Where: The Arts League // 4226 Spruce St, Philadelphia, PA 19104 *NB: This is an in-person workshop*
When: July 21, July 28, August 4, 6-8 p.m. (Tuesdays)
Sign-up: Here!
What is an essay?: Writing (and submitting) creative nonfiction
Who: Me (same as before) and maybe you (someone with internet access who is interested in the essay as a writing form).
What: This one-time online class is for folks interested in writing and submitting creative nonfiction in literary magazines.
What is a creative nonfiction essay? It draws from real life, but what sets it apart from an op-ed, a blog, a diary entry, a TikTok, a journalism story, or an academic article? We’ll tackle this question by examining the form and craft elements of several essays, and we’ll leave with a writing prompt that invites attendees to identify and riff on a formal element of an essay shared.
Where: Online, so you can join from anywhere!
When: September 17, 4-5 p.m. via Zoom
Sign-up: Coming soon via Blue Stoop!
Personal updates
It’s felt like a different season each week in May, but the month is finally coming to a close. I finished reading Alexandre Dumas’ “The Three Musketeers” and started and finished Oscar Wilde’s “The Importance of Being Earnest” along with Anne Carson’s “Short Talks.” I’ve started reading Le Corbusier’s “Towards A New Architecture,” John Waters’ “Crackpot,” and Leo Tolstoy’s “Anna Karenina.”
I watched Sofia Coppola’s “Marie Antoinette” for the first (and second) time and am still chewing on it, but I think she might be too good at making girlish consumerism feel deviously fun. I’m considering a double feature of her divorce movie (“Lost in Translation”) with the other side of the divorce (Spike Jonze’s “Her”), and I’ve already made plans to do a Kirsten Dunst double feature of Coppola’s “The Virgin Suicides” and Lars von Trier’s “Melancholia.” More to come, or, in journalism speak, TKTK1.
I had my first bout of heat exhaustion for the season, and I’ve been trying to take better care of my skin, though I feel like Patrick Bateman every time I put a headband on to wash my face. I learned that Palantir employees are called Hobbits and Conde Nast employees (at least a few years ago) are called Conde Nasties. I’m still in the querying trenches with the memoir manuscript, but I’ve started outlining a new fiction manuscript. Most importantly, Toaster turned 6 years old! Until next time <3
It seems someone on Substack’s dev team has worked in journalism because when I typed “TK,” it instantly added a margin note to flag that this section is incomplete.