A 2-Day Online Multigenre Workshop
Tuesdays, August 4 & 11, 6-8 PM
In her 1925 essay, "On Being Ill," Virginia Woolf uses metaphor to write of illness: “how astonishing, when the lights of health go down, the undiscovered countries that are then disclosed...what ancient and obdurate oaks are uprooted in us in the act of sickness.” In the late 1970s, Susan Sontag penned her famous essay "Illness as Metaphor," arguing against the use of metaphorical writing when it comes to illness: "My point is that illness is not a metaphor, and that the most truthful way of regarding illness -- and the healthiest way of being ill -- is one most purified of, most resistant to, metaphoric thinking," she writes. Throughout history, no realm of literature has engendered the same strong and conflicting opinions as the illness narrative. No topic has inspired such pained-but-poignant writing, commanding the whole body and mind, as illness.
In this workshop, we will consult works by writers who have tackled illness throughout the years: Sontag, Woolf, Audre Lorde, Esmé Weijun Wang, and Elisabeth Tova Bailey, for instance. Drawing from various prompts, we will practice illness writing techniques. We will explore the following questions: how to write the harsh reality of illness without falling prey to melodrama? How and when to employ metaphor? How to make readers feel this experience in their bodies?
Participants will be invited to write about their own illness or caretaking experiences --- acute or chronic, physical or mental -- or that of fictional characters.
$120 Members/$175 Nonmembers
Emma Zimmerman is an award-winning writer and journalist, based in Maine. Her essays have appeared in publications that include Huffpost and No Tokens, and her journalism has appeared in Outside, Runner’s World, The Boston Globe, and the Maine Monitor. Her literary nonfiction has received various awards, including a “notable nonfiction” selection in the Best American Essays anthology, and fellowships from Lighthouse Writers Workshop and Phillips Exeter Academy. She has taught and led creative writing workshops at NYU, Phillips Exeter Academy, Central Maine Community College, and the Electric Cottage Collective (in Brunswick). Her debut book, Body Songs: a Memoir of Long Covid, Chronic Illness, and Unconventional Recovery, is forthcoming from Penguin in January 2027.
ADVANCE REGISTRATION REQUIRED
All MWPA workshops require advanced registration. We accept registration by phone, mail, and online via our website. We cannot guarantee registration in the final 24-hours before a workshop, and can rarely accommodate day-of registration.
PAYMENT & CANCELLATION POLICIES
If you need to withdraw from a class after registering for any reason, please email or call the MWPA immediately. You may be eligible for a partial refund or credit, depending on how far in advance you cancel. → MORE INFORMATION
QUESTIONS
For any questions regarding this workshop, please contact programs@mainewriters.org.
REGISTER BY PHONE
Call 207-200-7180 and register with your VISA or MasterCard.
REGISTER BY MAIL
If you prefer to pay by mail, please print this registration form (downloadable PDF) and mail it to the MWPA with a check or credit card information.
SCHOLARSHIP
The MWPA is proud to offer one partial scholarship to this workshop for members-only. Scholarships are awarded on a combination of need and merit. Application Due two weeks prior to the workshop start date, at 9:00 a.m.
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MWPA WORKSHOP POLICIES
Registration in any MWPA workshop, program, or event constitutes your agreement to our terms and conditions. → MORE INFORMATION