
Begins Monday, June 13th, 2022
Class will meet weekly on Mondays via Zoom, 7PM - 9PM EST
Open to All writers!
Any questions about this class? Use the Chat Button (lower left) to talk with us.
Taught by Lisa Levy, a founding editor of Crime Reads and a contributing editor to Literary Hub, this class is all about reading and writing True Crime.
True crime has never been as popular as it is now. It’s proliferating in print, online, on film and television, and especially as podcasts. In this four-week class we will look at examples of crime writing from the Puritans to the New Journalists to the memoirs and narrative nonfiction that has hooked readers today.
In every era, preoccupations with particular types of crimes are indicators of where culture is being contested or challenged.In the Great Depression, people loved stories of bank robberies. Stories of organized crime—the mafia is above all a family business--grabbed the imagination during the 1970s, when divorce rates skyrocketed, feminism flourished, and anxiety about the demise of the nuclear family soared. Now, in an environment where identities are contested or in flux, crimes which hurt or humiliate children, women, and BIPOC communities are being brought to light. Serial killers and confidence men also fascinate us: people who use charm and manipulation to nefarious ends.
We are in boom times for true crime writing, which is much more sophisticated and nuanced than the murder ballads and junky paperbacks of the past. Yet the spread of true crime into all media highlights how we see ourselves as potential victims and asks us to wonder how crime might become a presence in our lives—hence the rise of the hybrid true crime memoir.
These classes emphasize reading: we will examine the narrative possibilities of true crime and its presence in various genres. Authors include Dominick Dunne, Mary Rowlandson, Truman Capote, Michelle McNamara, Richard Lloyd Perry, Piper Weiss, James Ellroy, Gay Talese, Janet Malcolm, Ann Rule, Chantal Miller, and Robert Kolker. The writing component of the class will include short response papers, close readings of our texts, and a chance to try your hand at writing true crime.
This 4-Week Class is Part I in a two part series of True Crime workshops led by Lisa. Part II will follow Part I and starts July 20th, 2022.
Part 1 (June 13th, 2022 - July 6th, 2022) is an examination of murder: premeditated; crimes of passion; serial killers; and narcotics, particularly the opioid crisis.
Part 2 (July 20th, 2022 - Aug 10th, 2022) will focus on mayhem: rape and sexual violence; kidnapping; gangs and organized crime; and confidence schemes.
STUDENTS LOVE LISA:
" -Dustin H.
"Lisa is really very good at pop culture. And she's wonderful at pushing you in a good direction without really telling you where to go. A gentle nudge that gets you thinking, basically, and then you're off to the races. I would highly recommend this class if you have any interest at all in pop culture writing. The Wet Ink platform that Writing Workshops uses is pretty coo, too." -Rachel H.
ONLINE COURSE STRUCTURE:
This class meets weekly via Zoom and also uses our online classroom Wet Ink. Lisa will get you all the details after you enroll. Come prepared for a super fun class with live interaction on Zoom each week and plenty of writing, reading, and talking!
PAYMENT OPTIONS:
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Instructor: Lisa Levy
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Part I Starts June 13th, 2022
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Course is fully ONLINE.