On Writing—The Literary Essay
On Writing—The Literary Essay
November 16, 2021
Definitions of the essay are vague and various. It may be formal or informal; lyrical or critical, long or short; personal or not at all. Aldous Huxley described it as “a literary device for saying almost everything about almost anything,” and Michel de Montaigne claimed the term for his writings, linking up his literary “attempts,” or essais, to the French origins of the word. To essay, at its most etymological, is “to try.” In this event, we will examine the current popularity and parameters of this form. How might academics incorporate essayistic strategies into scholarly repertoires, and what venues foster these “attempts”? What aesthetic guidelines, if any, exist for a form that is by definition so capacious? How does the literary essay differ from a journal article designed for peer review? We will be joined again in our discussion by practitioners and editors, in a conversation followed by group Q&A.
Speakers:
Geoff Dyer, author and USC writer in residence
Lynell George, L.A.based journalist and essayist
José Vadi, poet, playwright, and essayist
Moderated by Emily Hodgson Anderson, Professor of English and College Dean of Undergraduate Education, and David Ulin, Associate Professor of the Practice of English.
This workshop is part of the Levan Institute for the Humanities's “On Writing” series, which offers a set of discussions among academics, writers, editors, and others about the nature of writing — both within the academy and in the wider world. To see more events in this series, including recordings of past events, visit https://dornsife.usc.edu/levan-instit.... Questions? Contact the Levan Institute at [email protected]