One space only remains in the Paisley Rekdal creative nonfiction workshop, happening July 17-24 as part of the 2011 Port Townsend Writers’ Conference.

Paisley Rekdal is the author of a book of essays, “The Night My Mother Met Bruce Lee,” and three books of poetry: “A Crash of Rhinos,” “Six Girls Without Pants,” and “The Invention of the Kaleidoscope.” “Intimate,” a hybrid photo-text memoir that combines poems, nonfiction, and fiction with photography, is forthcoming from Tupelo Press in 2011. Poems and essays have appeared in such magazines as Ploughshares, Poetry, Tin House, Michigan Quarterly Review, Denver Quarterly, New England Review, Virginia Quarterly Review, Kenyon Review, and American Poetry Review, among many others.

Paisley’s class description: The Mixed-Genre Memoir?
While memoirs have long been a popular genre, the style of memoir writing has been undergoing a quiet revolution. Memoirists are increasingly turning to fiction and poetry, using aspects of dialogue, characterization, plot, metaphor, lyric movement and imagery, and even photography to shape the narratives of their lives. In this workshop, we’ll be looking at a variety of poems and short stories that might help serve as models for writing one’s personal narrative. We’ll also look at a few short excerpted examples of memoirs that move between the genres, connecting these readings with specific exercises students might try at home. These readings will include selections from Nick Flynn’s “Another Bullshit Night in Suck City,” Abigail Thomas’ “Safekeeping,” Kazim Ali’s “Bright Felon,” Lawrence Sutin’s “A Postcard Memoir,” Claudia Rankine’s “Don’t Let Me Be Lonely,” and Theresa Hak Kyung Cha’s “Erato.” Register.

Happening the week of July 17-24, the Conference has been since 1974 at the heart of the thriving Pacific Northwest literary scene.

The workshops of Sam Ligon, Dorianne Laux, Pam Houston, Cheryl Strayed, Carl Phillips, and Benjamin Alire Sáenz are all full, with waiting lists started. More information and class options are available here.

You can also indulge yourself with the drop-in afternoon workshop series, residencies, guided freewrites, and a vibrant readings and lectures series. Online registration is available here, or you can learn more by calling Jordan at 360.385.3102, ext. 131!

For some, the PTWC is an intense immersion in craft. For others, it’s about getting the time and space to write, while soaking in the readings and craft lectures, morning freewrites, and afternoon workshops. For all, it’s a time of retreat and renewal. Whether you’re new to writing and seeking an inspirational environment to create new work, looking for advanced post-MFA revision workshops, or simply desire to renew and recharge yourself in a writing retreat, the Port Townsend Writers’ Conference gives you the craft and connections to make breakthroughs in your work.

Tuition for core morning workshops is $625. Admission to afternoon workshops only is $275 for unlimited  access. Admission to freewrites and morning writing exercises is $150 (you get both, all week!). All freewrites, morning writing exercises, and afternoon workshops are free for those who are registered for the core morning workshops. Room and board options range from $205 to $525. Financial-aid funds are available for all tracks.

None of what we do here would be possible without the generous support of The Inland Center for Writers at Eastern Washington University, Western Washington University, the University of Washington, the University of Idaho, the Crab Creek Review, Willow Springs, Copper Canyon Press, Amazon.com, Port Book and News, the Rainier Writers’ Workshop at Pacific Lutheran University, Peninsula College, Goddard College, and the Richard Hugo House. We are grateful to all of these organizations, as well as to the thousands of individual donors whose generosity celebrates the power of writing to change lives.