Writing Co-Lab

I love great, sprawling New Yorker stuff and literary magnum opuses, but often I crave something shorter, something that hits my heart but doesn’t take itself too preciously, something fun. I seek similar when writing: to enter a state of childlike wonder and discovery, to resist accepted rules, to make mistakes, to say what I’ve never said before or even known I needed to say, to play. In this five week generative class we’ll make space for play in our writing process, and we’ll examine short-ish creative nonfiction that embraces the unconventional from authors like Ross Gay, Ottessa Moshfegh, Anelise Chen, and Kiese Laymon.

During class discussions we’ll analyze how an author can take the reader on an intellectual and emotional journey, making a big impact in a tight amount of space. In addition to this close reading, you will write a short piece a week, and have four opportunities to share your work with the class and receive feedback. Our focus will be on trying new styles and techniques, and writing with excitement, verve, and a sense of adventure.

Each week, I will share a prompt or two to spark your creativity. You will not be required to respond in writing to your peers’ work; the only writing you do in this class will be creative. A large portion of class sessions will be devoted to students reading their work aloud and sharing it with the class, and constructive feedback will be given verbally by the class. I will provide short written responses to each submission.

About the Instructor

Brian Gresko (he/they) is a writer based in Brooklyn, where they co-run Pete’s Reading Series, the borough's longest running literary venue. Their work has appeared in Poets & Writers Magazine, Slate, The Atlantic, Longreads, The Rumpus, and many other publications. Also a stay-at-home parent, they edited the anthology When I First Held You: 22 Critically Acclaimed Writers Talk about the Triumphs, Challenges, and Transformative Experience of Fatherhood. They received their MFA in fiction from The New School, and was the first in their family to attend college, at Oberlin.

Student Testimonials

Brian is such a thoughtful, enthusiastic, experienced instructor. He facilitated each session with consistency and fluidity to meet the needs of the team. Brian modeled feedback for us very well and did a great job of demystifying the writing world from his seat. I’m glad I took this course. – former Creative Nonfiction Foundations student

Brian is a caring, kind, and intuitive teacher. In addition to being genuinely excited about writing and teaching it as a craft, he's responsive to questions and generous with his time. I learned a lot in the nonfiction class I took with Brian, and left with a deeper understanding of how to create emotional connections with a reader, follow the arc of a narrative, and choose details that move the story forward. – Luna Adler

I came in wanting to produce at least two chapters from my next haiku book, but instead I got the tools I needed to write an entire next book—one that is going to be challenging, but that I'm going to be really proud of. In Brian's class, I felt like I “leveled up,” learning creative strategies to organize and make my work more readable and interesting. I gained an excitement and enthusiasm for writing that I didn't have before - an energy that I plan to keep flowing now that the class is done! – Kristen Lem, author of Haiku to Fall in Love To

I took Brian's workshop in non-fiction and worked on two pieces with the class, while also reading and giving feedback on students' work. That experience reignited my writing process in a serious way. I continued to work on the second piece from the class with Brian one-on-one, and he encouraged me to submit it for publication. He helped me understand the submission process, and tracked down contacts at the publications on my short list. That piece kinda blew up on the Internet and the next thing I know I have a literary agent and am working on a full-length book project. Will you get an agent by taking Brian's class? Unclear. But you will gain an honest understanding of both your strengths and tics as a writer, and hopefully a kick in the motivation pants while you're at it. – Christina Wallace