4 sessions, Mondays, February 2nd to 23rd, 7-9 pm EST
online
$360
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please note: payments will not be accepted until January 1, 2026. For now, sign up, and in the New Year you will be required to input your credit card information to complete the purchase. Thank you!
Beloved Co-Lab teacher and Truth is the Arrow, Mercy is the Bow: A DIY Manual for the Construction of Stories author Steve Almond returns with a fresh quartet of generative classes in which we'll explore the wild side of your (and your characters’) storied past, by focusing on stories about the transgressive realms of Sex, Drugs, Rock n Roll, and Violence. Each week, we’ll read a story or essay focused on the given subject, then embark on a free write that gives free rein to our more anarchic impulses. For writers of any level, from beginners to published veterans, these classes are your chance to cast off your inhibitions and rock out!
February 2nd: A Few Frank Words About Sex
Sexuality is a part of the human arrangement. We all have desires, kinks, hang-ups, and libidos. In this class, we’ll focus on the ways in which sexuality can be a pathway to truth, vulnerability, shame, and liberation. We’ll look at the work of masters such as Mary Gordon and Toni Morrison as a means of exploring the possibilities of the erotic.
February 9th: What a Long, Strange Trip It’s Been: Your Prose on Drugs
We’ve all had moments where we turned to illicit substances as a way of managing our anxieties, cutting loose, retreating from pain, and even finding a path to greater enlightenment. We’ll look at the work of Denis Johnson and others to understand the ecstatic prose that can arise from bad trips.
February 16th: Rock n Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution
For better or worse, our lives have a soundtrack, particular albums and songs that bring us back to a charged moment or era in our lives. In this class, we’ll look at the work of John Darnielle, Don DeLillo, and other rock and roll writers, and use these examples as a way of exploring our own personal soundtracks. Turn it up to eleven.
February 23rd: No Pain, No Gain: Violence on the Page
For our final class, we’ll look at how acts of violence—both physical and emotional—can haunt us. By examining the work of James Baldwin, Joyce Carol Oates, and others, we’ll discover how violent acts can give expression to psychic pain, and allow us to find the truth at the center of acts that can feel out-of-control and senseless.
Suggested companion text: Truth is the Arrow, Mercy is the Bow: A DIY Manual for the Construction of Stories (Zando, April 2024)
Enroll in this class.
About the instructor
Steve Almond is the author of twelve books of fiction and non-fiction including the New York Times bestsellers Candyfreak and Against Football. His first novel, Which Brings Me to You (co-written with Julianna Baggott) was made into way-better-than-he-expected movie starring Lucy Hale and Nat Wolff. His last novel, All the Secrets of the World, is in development for television by 20th Century Fox. His work has appeared in the Best American Short Stories, the Pushcart Prize, Best American Mysteries, and the NYT Magazine. His most recent book, Truth Is the Arrow, Mercy Is the Bow, is about craft, inspiration, and how to keep going at the keyboard. Almond teaches at the Nieman Foundation for Journalism and lives outside Boston with his family and his anxiety.
Student Testimonials from Past Quartets
“I know you know, but let me reaffirm, Steve is a delightful, smart, kind, inclusive teacher. I think everyone in this group read aloud at least once. And the readings he sends us and the discussion about them has us all taking notes, for sure had me taking notes, which is fuel for tomorrow, for the days after the class.”
“Steve pushes me through my resistance of the moment to an opening filled with possibilities. His sharp analysis feels interwoven with an almost vulnerable appreciation of works he cites for examples, and then somehow he applies that skill to students’ work. There’s something about the bad boy in the background that makes it all work so well.”
“Steve’s talk in the beginning of each class emotionally and intellectually primes you to take risks that require an honesty that, on your own, is uncomfortable. It feels like a trespass on the people you love when you write so honestly. Steve encouraged a new definition of this trespass. It’s love. And then when you write, and hear other people’s writing–writing that was so raw and vulnerable–you approach your writing the next day with a new understanding of what you are trying to do. To tell the truth. My classmates were so inspiring. Usually my insecurity is driving intense criticism of others. I couldn’t imagine doing that in Steve’s class. He creates a safe and daring atmosphere that brings out my own need to support others, to walk away from my needy ego and be a part of a great group. And Steve is just a good guy. He’s funny, fair, knowledgable, encouraging, and leaks just the right amount of transgression to make the classes more like a rigorous discussion at a pub (in Liverpool and not London) without alcohol. Don’t know if that analogy works, but I would take his class again.”