Writing the Personal Essay with Cathy Sweeney
Info
Date: March 19, 2025
Time: 6.30 pm - 8.30 pm
Duration: 6 weeks
Level: Beginner |
Cost: €190 (€171 Members)
Location: Irish Writers Centre
This course will take place in person on Wednesdays (six sessions in total).
Course Summary
Each class will comprise of two elements: close reading of personal essays and workshopping of personal essay extracts written by course participants.
Course Outline
Week One: Voice: Michel de Montaigne, Elizabeth Hardwick
Week Two: Form: Lydia Davis, James Baldwin
Week Three: Style: Zadie Smith, Rob Doyle
Week Four: Dramatisation: Tim MacGabhann, Virginia Woolf
Week Five: Reflection: Emilie Pine, Joan Didion
Week Six: Ethics: Megan Nolan, David Foster Wallace
Course Outcomes
At the end of this course, writers will return to their work with inspiration and a deeper understanding of the craft of the personal essay.
Cathy Sweeney’s collection of short stories, Modern Times, her was published by The Stinging Fly Press and W&N in 2020. Her debut novel, Breakdown, was published by W&N in January 2024. Cathy has twice been awarded a Literature Bursary from The Arts Council of Ireland and in 2022 she was Writer in Residence at University College Cork. In 2023 she was the recipient of a Hawthornden Fellowship.
Booked out? To be added to the waiting list for this course, please email info@irishwriterscentre.ie.
