4-Week: Craft Lessons From Deborah Levy’s August Blue

"I was living precariously in my own body; that is to say, I had not fallen into who I was or who I was becoming. What I wanted for myself was a new composition."
—Elsa M. Anderson in Deborah Levy’s August Blue

With guidance, provocation, and even solace from Deborah Levy’s brief novel August Blue, we'll write new drafts and try new directions in works in progress. What happens after you break expectations? What happens when you find a double, take her hat, and talk with her in your mind? What constitutes a family? How do you begin?

We'll talk about the novel—from matters of craft and narrative strategy to big ideas about living now and living as an artist—and try out writing prompts inspired by it. This is a generative and active class that honors reading, musing, surprise, play, and genre crossing. Whether you’re starting a new project, deep in the middle of a manuscript, or beginning to write after a hiatus, you will focus on creating fresh sparks and drafts rather than critiquing and receiving critiques.

Required Text:
August Blue, by Deborah Levy