Memory As Muse

with Andromeda Romano-Lax

This three-part virtual class will meet on Saturday, November 2, and Saturday, November 9, from 12-3pm. 

Description: Writing may be therapeutic but this class is not focused on therapy or personal psychology per se. Instead, we will be investigating memory as a way to provide material for both nonfiction or fiction writing—and we will have fun doing it! We will review what recent science tells us about memory’s limitations, discover and shape memories into art, and reflect on the use of memory as both subject and process in great literature from Proust to Nabokov. We will also address a key concern of memoirists: how to signal to the reader that memories are fallible without disrupting the narrative. Each class session will feature multiple writing prompts and limited optional sharing in a positive environment. Homework assignments will challenge participants to extend a prompt or two into longer pieces built from the flashes of remembering released in this class. This class is open to all levels and well suited to memoirists concerned about inexact memory, fiction writers looking to mine autobiographical material, and anyone wanting to wake up old writing muscles with help from multiple, easy prompts.

Instructor: Andromeda Romano-Lax is a book coach, former science writer, teacher of creative writing, and author of six novels, one travel narrative, and many other nonfiction books. She has been known to forget the names of her own characters during interviews and continues to write both fiction and memoir, regardless!