Writing the Personal Essay
Description: Aldous Huxley wrote: “”Like the novel, the essay is a literary device for saying almost everything about almost anything.”
Join us to discover the joys of writing the Personal Essay. Through this literary genre you are free to communicate humor, knowledge, life experiences…just about anything that tells a story from your life or imagination.
In this workshop, we’ll read published essays, discuss the craft of telling stories in essay form while working on our own drafts to share for feedback and potential publishing.
We’ll also talk about the business of getting your essays published, how to develop relationships with editors and how to pitch your pieces.
Who Should Attend: This class is open to writers at all levels who have something to say. No prior writing experience is necessary.
NOTE: This class may used for Certificate Program students as one Elective.
About the Instructor: Ranjit Souri’s essays have been published in AIM, ByLine, Case, India Currents, and Khabar, and have been featured on Chicago Public Radio. His monthly column, Personal Items, appears in India Currents magazine. Ranjit is also a comedy writer whose work has been produced on stages throughout the USA. He has co-written numerous comedy shows for the stage with Cupid Players, Stir-Friday Night!, and Paper Monkeys. Additional works produced on Chicago stages include a one-act play and three musicals. Ranjit also holds a B.S. in Accounting from Case Western Reserve University and an MBA from Columbia University, and is an adjunct faculty member in Improvisation and Comedy Writing at The Second City Training Center. He can be seen performing weekly in the Cupid Players’ hit musical comedy show, Cupid Has a Heart On, a show which he co-wrote and which is now in its fourth year at iO Chicago.