1 session, Monday, February 9th, 7-9 pm EST

online

Enroll in this class.

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!

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.

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.