How do writers create and render themselves on the page? Is it the writer's job to transport her reader into an alternate time and place through the creation of scenes and the genesis of thoughtful reflection, or, instead, to make her reader aware of the constructed nature of writing itself? Is it possible—or even preferable—to achieve all of this at once? We will spend the first part of our time together looking at excerpts from beloved Penn nonfiction writing instructor Beth Kephart's recent book, Handling the Truth: On the Writing of Memoir to give ourselves a framework through which to consider personal narrative writing. Next, we will read and discuss excerpts from memoirs by Lorene Cary and Paul Hendrickson who are also much-loved nonfiction writing teachers at Penn. Just when things start to make sense, we will transition to writing by Kenneth Goldsmith, who is called "experimental" by some and "uncreative" by others—and who is also a key member of the Kelly Writers House community. This special group is a chance for prospective undergraduates to read and think together while exploring the amazing variety of writers who teach in our Creative Writing Program. Consider this a glimpse into what four years at Penn can be.
Jamie-Lee Josselyn is the Associate Director for Recruitment at Penn's Center for Programs in Contemporary Writing, a nonfiction writing instructor in the Creative Writing Program, and has worked at the Kelly Writers House as the Assistant to the Faculty Director and Coordinator of the Writers House Fellows Program. She has taught creative nonfiction writing at St. Paul's School's Advanced Studies Program in Concord, New Hampshire, at the Wharton School's Advanced Management Education Conference, at the New England Young Writers Conference, and in the Philadelphia public school system. Jamie-Lee has a BA from the University of Pennsylvania and an MFA from Bennington College where she was the nonfiction editor of The Bennington Review.