The personal essay is perhaps the most flexible of literary genres, sometimes leaning toward fiction in a story telling fashion but often leaning towards journalism or scholarship or even poetry. In this session we will illustrate the options available to a non fiction writer,, including the narrative essay, the reflective essay, literary journalism and the lyric essay. We will experiment with different methods through guided exercises and prompts and discuss when one mode of essay might be more suitable than another. Our aim is to find ways to generate new work or reimagine works in progress.
TIM BASCOM is the author of a novel, two collections of essays, and two prize-winning memoirs about years spent in East Africa as a youth: Chameleon Days and Running to the Fire. His essays have been selected for the anthologies Best Creative Nonfiction and Best American Travel Writing, receiving editor prizes from The Missouri Review and Florida Review. His short fiction has appeared in journals such as Zone 3, Front Range Review, and Flint Hills Review. Bascom received his MFA from the University of Iowa and taught creative writing for 20 years at the college level. He currently directs the Kansas Book Festival.
