Starts Tuesday, May 5th, 2026

Class will meet weekly via Zoom on Tuesdays, 8:00PM ET - 10:00PM ET.

🌍 Class Times by Time Zone: Los Angeles (PDT): 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM / Chicago (CDT): 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM / New York (EDT): 8:00 PM – 10:00 PM

Any questions about this class? Use the Chat Button to talk with us. 

Instructor Jenessa Abrams is a writer, literary translator, and practitioner of Narrative Medicine. Her fiction, literary criticism, and creative nonfiction have appeared in publications such as The Atlantic, Electric Literature, Eater, The Los Angeles Review of Books, The Rumpus, BOMB Magazine, The New York Times, and anthologies including Off Assignment's Letter to a Stranger (Algonquin, 2022). She has been awarded fellowships and grants from the National Book Critics Circle, MacDowell, The New York Public Library, the Ucross Foundation, the Norman Mailer Center, the Vermont Studio Center, and Columbia University, where she earned her MFA in fiction and literary translation. Abrams is a member of the National Book Critics Circle and a 2023 NBCC Emerging Critic Fellow. She serves on the Advisory Board of Off Assignment, a magazine of literary travel writing, and on the Board of Directors of New Neighbors Partnership, a New York-based nonprofit that helps newly arrived refugees connect to local community resources. Following her Master of Fine Arts degree, she earned a Master of Science in Narrative Medicine at Columbia University. She now teaches writing in the program. Currently, she directs the lecture/performance series, Narrative Medicine Rounds at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. 

Meet the Teaching Artist

Learn more about Jenessa in our Meet the Teaching Artist series.

Who is this class for?

This online writing workshop is for writers from all backgrounds interested in holding space for their experiences of illness through writing. The course includes craft discussions, close readings, writing exercises, and a writing workshop. Open to all levels.

What to expect:

Writing Through Illness is a 6-week online writing workshop designed for writers at all stages of their careers to dedicate time and space to writing through illness—whether in a fictional or creative nonfictional exploration of experiences of the mind and the body. Each week, you will engage in the close reading of texts committed to this work, including narratives by Audre Lorde, Melissa Febos, Amy Hempel, Yiyun Li, Leslie Jamison, and others. Through guided discussion, you will explore themes of telling, silence, narrative perspective, the shape of illness on the page, and the power of language.

Each session includes a communal writing exercise based on the selected readings, giving you the opportunity to begin the practice of saying the unsaid and learning to put language to your experiences in fiction or nonfiction. The purpose of this creative writing course is to guide you in the process of writing about illness in a way that honors your experiences and moves you toward self-expression and self-expansion on the page.

The course culminates in a writing workshop where students will share work developed during the course to receive in-class feedback from their peers and the instructor. Students will also receive written feedback, line edits, and a longer feedback letter from the instructor. Writers will have brief weekly readings and in-class writing assignments, along with one formal writing assignment: a short piece of fiction or creative nonfiction to present for workshop.

What are the writing goals?

In this course, students will complete weekly in-class writing exercises and will have an opportunity to submit one piece of writing for workshop, which can then be revised for potential publication. Students will receive instructor feedback during workshop as well as a formal feedback letter and in-line commentary on their marked-up manuscript.

Readings

Readings may include excerpts from: "The Heart-Work: Writing About Trauma as a Subversive Act" by Melissa Febos in Poets & Writers; excerpt from Audre Lorde's The Cancer Journals (Aunt Lute Books); "In the Cemetery Where Al Jolson Is Buried" by Amy Hempel; "Spite" by Anne Trumbore in Big Ugly Review; "Dear Friend, From My Life I Write to You in Your Life" by Yiyun Li in A Public Space; "When You Are Waiting To Be Healed" by June Eric-Udorie in Catapult; "On Telling Ugly Stories: Writing with a Chronic Illness" by Nafissa Thompson-Spires in The Paris Review; and "The Empathy Exams" by Leslie Jamison in The Believer.

COURSE OUTLINE

Week 1: On the Importance of Telling — Tuesday, May 5, 2026

During the first class, we will discuss the importance of telling as it relates to illness narratives. We will begin by introducing ourselves and sharing our writing goals. Then we will cover workshop expectations and reasons for telling stories about illness. We will continue with a discussion of "The Heart-Work" by Melissa Febos. We will close with a communal writing exercise with an opportunity for in-class sharing. Reading: "The Heart-Work: Writing About Trauma as a Subversive Act" by Melissa Febos in Poets & Writers

Week 2: Saying the Unsayable — Tuesday, May 12, 2026

During the second class, we will discuss the importance of saying the unsayable. We will begin by reflecting on the first writing exercise, then transition into a dialogue about speaking that which many would prefer we left unsaid. Next, we will spend time with Audre Lorde's The Cancer Journals, examining her groundbreaking work and unpacking its craft as it relates to our own writing goals. We will finish with a communal writing exercise with an opportunity for in-class sharing. Reading: Excerpt from Audre Lorde's The Cancer Journals (Aunt Lute Books)

Week 3: Who Tells the Story & Round 1 Workshop — Tuesday, May 19, 2026

During the third class, we will explore the question of narrative perspective and power in terms of who tells the story of an illness. We will begin by reflecting on the second writing exercise, then move into a discussion about who has historically had the power to narrate their own stories, first exploring our own work, then transitioning into a conversation about stories told about the illnesses of others. Next, we will conduct our Round 1 Workshop. We will close with a communal writing exercise with an opportunity for in-class sharing. Readings: "In the Cemetery Where Al Jolson Is Buried" by Amy Hempel; "Spite" by Anne Trumbore in Big Ugly Review

Week 4: The Shape of the Illness & Round 2 Workshop — Tuesday, May 26, 2026

During the fourth class, we will explore how the shape of the illness influences the shape of the story we tell about it. We will begin by reflecting on the third writing exercise, then move into a discussion about narrative construction, first through the lens of our work, then incorporating Yiyun Li's "Dear Friend, From My Life I Write to You in Your Life." Next, we will conduct our Round 2 Workshop. We will close with a communal writing exercise with an opportunity for in-class sharing. Reading: Excerpt from "Dear Friend, From My Life I Write to You in Your Life" by Yiyun Li in A Public Space

Week 5: The Power of Language & Round 3 Workshop — Tuesday, June 2, 2026

During the fifth class, we will explore the power of language as it relates to naming. We will begin by reflecting on the fourth writing exercise, then move into a discussion about narrative choices in terms of illness. Next, we will conduct our Round 3 Workshop. We will close with a communal writing exercise with an opportunity for in-class sharing. Readings: "When You Are Waiting To Be Healed" by June Eric-Udorie in Catapult; "On Telling Ugly Stories: Writing with a Chronic Illness" by Nafissa Thompson-Spires in The Paris Review

Week 6: Crafting Illness Narratives & Round 4 Workshop — Tuesday, June 9, 2026

During the sixth and final class, we will discuss the craft of illness narratives. We will begin by reflecting on the fifth writing exercise, then transition into a conversation about narrative craft, first through our own writing, then focusing on "The Empathy Exams" by Leslie Jamison. Next, we will conduct our fourth and final workshop. Then we will have a communal writing exercise with an opportunity for in-class sharing. We will close with a final conversation about writing about illness with time and space for questions. Reading: "The Empathy Exams" by Leslie Jamison in The Believer

COURSE TAKEAWAYS:

• Begin a writing practice to move through illness on the page
• Learn to engage with other writers and thinkers on the subject of illness narratives
• Explore craft strategies for writing about experiences of the mind and body in fiction and nonfiction
• Develop skills in close reading and applying published models to your own writing
• Produce one polished draft for potential publication with instructor feedback, line edits, and a formal feedback letter
• Build community with fellow writers dedicated to this important work

TESTIMONIALS:

"I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to work with Jenessa. I grew tremendously as a writer, and it allowed me space to explore narrative structures and the real impacts they can have on people." — Former Columbia University Graduate Student

"Jenessa knows how to identify the emotional truth of a book… She has an incredible work ethic. She's open-minded, collaborative, intuitive, willing to challenge herself, and always respectful of deadlines. She's worked with my other editorial colleagues at Guernica and the Rumpus — they have all had glowing things to say about her. It's rare we get to work with a writer who is versatile, compassion, unpretentious yet rigorous. I feel lucky to have had the opportunity." — Raluca Albu, Online Editor at BOMB Magazine

"Jenessa is one of the most thoughtful and generous teachers I have ever worked with. She gently pushed me to go deeper into my writing, to think critically about my practice and who I am as an artist, while simultaneously creating a safe space to meet me exactly where I was. Jenessa provided extremely attentive and helpful feedback; her love of teaching and her enduring respect for her students was always felt." — Former Columbia University Graduate Student

"I have been so grateful to work with and be taught by Jenessa Abrams... I have taken several writing courses in my academic career, however Jenessa has offered the most in-depth, personal, and generative feedback of any writing professor I've had. Her in-line comments on my writing have made me feel incredibly known and I am so grateful for her keen eye to note where prose can be sharpened or deepened. Her presence made me feel immediately comfortable to take risks in my writing both in style and subject matter. I feel I have grown in so much confidence in my voice as a writer and I attribute so much of that to the encouragement and guidance I have received from Jenessa." — Former Columbia University Graduate Student

"Jenessa's unique gift as a teacher is the ability to identify and develop each individual student's talent and interests, even those they did not know they themselves had, and provide them with the skills to develop those very talents and interests. This pedagogy requires deep, careful attention and individualized assessments that meet students where they are; the exact opposite of an overly didactic and stifling one-size-fits-all approach. Having found her to be one of the most effective teachers I have worked with in many years, I have no doubt that any student would benefit immensely from having her as an instructor." — Former Rutgers Undergraduate Student

"Jenessa exhibited genuine care for her students and pushed her students to do better. Throughout [her course], I found myself not only getting better at writing but also finding joy in writing." — Former Rutgers Undergraduate Student