Beginning Memoir: Truth is Stranger than Fiction with Nancy K. Fishman

Some of our most profound experiences are gracefully simple and some are stranger than fiction. How do we make sense of our life experiences and how do we record them? What voice do we use to tell our life story and what format? After we muster the courage and humor to record our memoirs, how do we polish them in a way that makes them shine? This beginning memoir class will include a brieft discussion of voice and form in memoir and then we’ll work on a variety of prompts to loosen memories and shake off our fears of telling talkes out of school or just not getting it right. We’ll share our writing in class, but sharing is not mandatory. In advance of the class, please bring a photo (on paper or digitally) to use for one writing prompt.

Teaching Artist: Nancy K. Fishman, based in Berkeley, CA, received her MFA in Creative Writing at San Francisco State University in May 2021, including a Graduate Student Award for Distinguised Achievement. She has a B.A. in English with an Emphasis on Creative Writing from UW-Madison. She was a resident at Mineral School, Wellstone Center in the Redwoods, Dorland Mountain Arts Colony, and Milly Arts Wintertide. Her short story, “Stoplight,” was a runner-up selected by Joshua Ferris for Symphony Space’s Stella Kupferberg Memorial Short Story Prize. She has maintained lifelong friendships with classmates from Madison college days and is thrilled to spend time in Wisconsin. She is currently working on a novel.

Class meets Tuesdays, May 6 and 13, 10:00 – 11:30 am.

Class size: Minimum 5, maximum 12.

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