We’ve just added a brand-new class as part of the 2012 PTWC. Creative-nonfiction writer Judith Kitchen will lead a revision class for writers of essays and memoir.

Here is the info, hot off the presses:

Judith Kitchen [July 8-15]
Judith Kitchen is the author of five books, including “Perennials” (poetry), “Only the Dance,” “Distance and Direction,” and ” The House on Eccles Road.” Her work has appeared in numerous literary journals, including recent essays in Prairie Schooner, the Colorado Review, and the Georgia Review. She has also edited three collections of short nonfiction pieces for W. W. Norton. Her awards include two Pushcart prizes in nonfiction and the Lillian Fairchild award. A former instructor at SUNY College at Brockport, she also served as editor and publisher of the State Street Press Chapbook Series. She currently serves on the faculty of the Rainier Writing Workshop Low-Residency MFA at Pacific Lutheran University. Register.

Class Description:
“To Memoir or to Essay”
At some point in the writing process, a writer of autobiographical nonfiction comes to a fork in the road.  Will this stuff of the life become memoir, or essay? The focus of this workshop will be to determine how your work is best served by thinking along these lines. Each day will open with a short discussion of one aspect of craft—or style, or perspective.  Then we will look at the work submitted by workshop members, building a group “vocabulary” for talking about issues of craft.  At the end of each session, I’ll suggest an “exercise” designed to extend the discussion—something you can do later in the day if you have time, or can take home with you for later thought. By the end of the week, you should have ideas for how you might design a longer project. Submit: Up to 12 pages of nonfiction, double-spaced, by June 1, 2012. Send them electronically to Jordan. Be sure to put your name and email address at the top of the first page. I’ll put them in an order so we can develop and deepen our discussion and return them to you electronically so you can prepare for the workshop.