Author in Residence: The Art of Nonfiction - Writing What You Know and Love

Some writers believe that “creative” nonfiction is limited to memoir and that “informative” nonfiction is dry and formulaic. This is not true, as shown by luminous works such as Robin Wall Kimmerer’s Braiding Sweetgrass and Helen Macdonald’s Vesper Flights. In this workshop, participants will bring a body of knowledge they are passionate about—whether it is gardening, a period of history they have researched, a cuisine, rock climbing, bird watching, anything at all—and explore how it is possible to write about these topics with sensuality, insight, and imagination. The central task for the writer is not just to convey information about the object of their obsession, but to capture something deep about the author’s relationship to it, to convince the reader why it’s worthy of obsession and what it feels like to be someone who is obsessed with it. We will discuss how the structure of a piece of nonfiction can spring from some essential quality of the thing being written about, and how the choice of language and imagery can create a strong emotional connection to it. Participants will be led through a series of exercises to think about their own emotional connection to their topic and to brainstorm ways to give their piece of writing a unique focus.

Host or Publisher Calgary Public Library