Thursday Courses Apr. 9-May 14 Joyce Hocker Life Writing: Journal & Memoir Thursday, 11:00 am-12:30 pm, Todd Building-UM, Rm 203
Note: Plan to bring a binder, paper or a laptop to class Are you writing about your life? Would you like to? Writing helps us create and transform our lives. Whether you are new to the process or are a long-time life writer, this class will offer creative ways to keep a journal. We will read published journal entries and information on how to keep a journal. We will also explore memoir writing by reading and discussing outstanding published memoir excerpts. The class will not be a workshop for your writing, although you will be invited to share brief portions of your writing, always on an optional basis. Above all, we will listen with appreciation, support, and a non-critical stance. If you have wanted to write portions of your life for others, this will be a good opportunity to leave a legacy. Joyce Hocker received a Ph. D. in Communication from the University of Texas and a Ph. D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Montana. She was a professor of communication at the University of Colorado and here at UM. She serves as an affiliate professor in the Psychology department at UM. She is co-author of Interpersonal Conflict (Mc-Graw-Hill, 8th Ed.) Since the 1980’s she has worked as a clinical psychologist and communication consultant in Missoula. For the past twenty years, she has led renewal retreats in Montana and Central America, in which personal writing is always a main feature. She has been keeping a journal for all her adult life, and is exploring memoir writing as an avocation, presenting papers for the National Communication Association Ethnography Division.
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Kathleen Clary Miller The Everyday Essay Thursday, 1:00 pm-2:30 pm, Todd Building-UM, Rm 204
This seminar will consist of learning the art of the essay as it applies to crafting true-life experience on paper. During the course, participants will be instructed to write a brief anecdotal story so that we may all discuss and critique each other’s work. No experience is necessary; just bring a desire to share your everyday stories in a style that lifts common observation to a new level. Together we will explore and create personal experiences with universal appeal. Kathleen Clary Miller is the author of 200 essays and stories that have appeared in such publications as Newsweek Magazine, Chicago Tribune, Baltimore Sun, Hartford Courant, Los Angeles Times, and The Christian Science Monitor. She is a columnist for The Missoulian and her column “Peaks and Valleys” appears in Montana Woman Magazine. She has contributed to National Public Radio’s On Point.