“I write entirely to find out what I’m thinking, what I’m looking at, what I see and what it means.” - Joan Didion
Perceiving. Thinking. Meaning-making. The personal essay has always been a space for people to make sense of their worlds, their stories. Take time off from the rush and frenzy of everyday life to think – really think – about what you see in the world around you and how your life fits into the larger scheme of things.
In each session, you get to discuss selected published writing, try your hand at short writing exercises, and receive on-the-spot feedback on your work. Each session is designed to introduce you to a different aspect of the personal essay, and readings will be provided a week before so you can enjoy them at your leisure and come for class ready to talk about them.
You can either sign up for a 3-class pass or participate in the entire series. If you choose the latter, you will gain a broader understanding of this most fluid and capacious of literary genres – and as a bonus, you might make some new writing buddies along the way. So why not give it a go!
This masterclass is recommended for participants aged 21 and above.
𝗦𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝟭: 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 ┃ 𝗦𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝟭𝟱 𝗝𝗮𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟮, 𝟭𝟬𝗮𝗺-𝟭𝟮𝗻𝗻
What is a personal essay? Why write personal essays? Learn about the history of this dark horse of a literary genre and explore its possibilities in the context of contemporary Asia.
𝗦𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝟮: 𝗢𝗯𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻┃ 𝗦𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝟮𝟮 𝗝𝗮𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟮, 𝟭𝟬𝗮𝗺-𝟭𝟮𝗻𝗻
We experience the world through our senses. How do we take the things we see, hear, taste, smell, and touch and make them new for our readers? What ideas and stories might emerge when we make time to take a long, loving look at the real?
𝗦𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝟯: 𝗥𝗲𝗳𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 ┃ 𝗦𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝟮𝟵 𝗝𝗮𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟮, 𝟭𝟬𝗮𝗺-𝟭𝟮𝗻𝗻
Meaning-making is fundamental to being human. How do we connect the particular with the universal? Is it possible to think on the page without boring the socks off our readers?
𝗦𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝟰: 𝗡𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 (𝟭) – 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲┃ 𝗦𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝟱 𝗙𝗲𝗯𝗿𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟮, 𝟭𝟬𝗮𝗺-𝟭𝟮𝗻𝗻
The world contains a wealth of stories waiting to be told. How do we craft compelling narratives from the raw material we see around us? What might these stories gain when we introduce the “I” into our writing?
𝗦𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝟱: 𝗡𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 (𝟮) – 𝗠𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗶𝗿 ┃ 𝗦𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝟭𝟮 𝗙𝗲𝗯𝗿𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟮, 𝟭𝟬𝗮𝗺-𝟭𝟮𝗻𝗻
Everybody has a story to tell. How do we tell our personal stories in ways that resonate with our readers? How might we rise above a narrow self-focus when writing about ourselves?
𝗦𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝟲: 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴┃ 𝗦𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝟭𝟵 𝗙𝗲𝗯𝗿𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟮, 𝟭𝟬𝗮𝗺-𝟭𝟮𝗻𝗻
“Have two or more if you can afford it.” When is this good advice for personal essayists? How do we “braid” different stories or ideas together to create insight and surprise that a single narrative cannot carry on its own?
* 𝘚𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘷𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘐𝘋.
* 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘡𝘰𝘰𝘮 𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵 24 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴.
* 𝘈 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘮𝘶𝘮 𝘰𝘧 3 𝘱𝘢𝘹 𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵.
An educator and former QLRS essays editor, Ruihe is also the recipient of the 2013 Golden Point Award for English poetry and co-editor of In Transit: An Anthology from Singapore on Airports and Air Travel. She holds an MFA in Writing (Nonfiction) from the University of Pittsburgh and is working on a collection of lyric essays.