Writing a New York Times' Modern Love-style Essay

For more than 20 years, the New York Times has published a weekly "Modern Love" column that's carved out a niche in the world of personal essays. Modern Love focuses on the human connections that shape--and sometimes unravel--our lives, and each one tells a story. In this course, we'll study some Modern Love essays and what makes them special. Students will then develop and craft their own (which they can submit if they choose), with teacher support and peer discussions. Writing a Modern Love column can be deeply meaningful and quite different from classic personal essay-writing. Writing about oneself can be both inspiring and emotionally challenging, but we all have stories, large and small, and we have all experienced memorable personal connections. Putting these stories to paper and figuring out how to tell them can enrich our own lives, and enrich the lives of those with whom these stories are shared. The instructor will offer her own insights and experience, and guide students along the path of studying these essays, exploring their style and format, and then writing their own essay. In this class we'll learn from each other, and everyone's stories will be valued. Students are welcome to submit their essay to Modern Love after the class is complete, but should focus their joy on the process, not the outcome. (The column receives about 10,000 submissions a year and publishes one a week.)

$5 materials fee payable to the instructor.