Class Description
A personal journal can be a secret record, for the author’s eyes only. But it can also be a “test kitchen” for trying out new ideas and ways of writing. This seminar will provide exercises and inspiration for those interested in developing and maintaining a creative journaling habit.
Mary Wisniewski is a longtime Chicago journalist. Her biography of Nelson Algren, Algren: A Life, won the Chicago Writers Association award for best non-fiction. Wisniewski has been a columnist at both the Chicago Sun-Times and the Chicago Tribune, and is currently a theater and book critic and features writer for Newcity and other publications.
What to Expect
Format: In Person
Class Capacity: 18
Class Style: Workshop; participation- and assignment-based
Materials List
Required
- Stuart Dybek, The Coast of Chicago. Knopf, 1990. ISBN: 9780394574493
- Instructor-Distributed Materials
First Assignment
- Read selections from Virginia Woolf and Samuel Pepys.
- Think about a historic event you witnessed and write what you saw. Who was there? What were the objects around you? Write in your journal every day, at least 10 minutes.
- Start the Stuart Dybek book; read a story, then go back and read it again, underling objects.
Cost and Registration
6 Sessions, $255 ($229.50 for Newberry members, seniors, and students). Learn about becoming a member.
We offer our classes at three different price options: Regular ($255), Community Supported ($235), and Sponsor ($270).. Following the models of other institutions, we want to ensure that our classes are accessible to a wider audience while continuing to support our instructors. You may choose the price that best fits your situation when registering through Learning Stream.
To register multiple people for this class, please go through the course calendar in Learning Stream, our registration platform. When you select the course and register, you’ll be prompted to add another registrant.
Having trouble signing up? Take a look at our step-by-step guide to registration by clicking here.
RegisterThe views and opinions expressed in this class and/or by the instructor are not necessarily representative of the Newberry. We aim to ensure that in our classes, participants can have respectful disagreement to foster critical thinking. This is a space to challenge and expand our own worldviews to work towards better understanding and appreciating humanity.
Support the Newberry
Your generosity is vital in keeping the library’s programs, exhibitions, and reading rooms free and accessible to everyone.
Make a GiftQuestions?
Call us at (312) 255-3700 or send us an email at adulteducation@newberry.org.
We are in office Tuesday through Thursday, 10 am–6 pm CT.
We are available by email Tuesday through Saturday.