Description
Read Like a Writer: The Promise by Damon Galgut
Analyzing craft to inspire your own writing.
The more we bring an analytic eye to others’ work, the more possibilities open up in our own. In this course, we focus on closely reading the Booker-Prize-winning novel The Promise by Damon Galgut. With its unconventional point of views, strong narrative arc, and brilliant inner and outer dialogue, Galgut’s novel offers fertile territory for our exploration. Over three weeks, we read the book and delve into various craft aspects of the novel, such as point of view, dialogue, place, and interiority. Pencil in hand, we take on key paragraphs, excavating practical techniques in the process. Leave with new tools for close-reading your own and others’ work. Requirements: Come to class having read the opening pages, up to the midpoint by session two, and to the end by session three.
Meet Your Instructor: Jennifer Carson
Jennifer Carson is an author, book critic, professor, and founder of the literary organization To the Lighthouse. Her criticism and essays have appeared in the New York Times Book Review, Los Angeles Review of Books, Barnes & Noble Review, Science, Los Angeles Times, Six Hens Journal, and Coast magazine. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing and Literature from Bennington College. She was the Wellstone Center in the Redwoods Writer in Residence in 2015 and an Artist in Residence at Hypatia-in-the-Woods in 2022. She founded To the Lighthouse in 2020, through which she facilitates lively and elevated book group discussions and hosts author events and literary retreats. She also holds a BS in physics from MIT and a PhD in astrophysics from UCLA. She is represented by Stephanie Cabot at Susanna Lea Associates.
Project Write Now offers no refunds or credits once registered, except in the unfortunate case a class or event is cancelled. We reserve the right to change instructors if necessary. We reserve the right to cancel, postpone, or reschedule any class, workshop, or event because of low enrollment or other unforeseen circumstances. Contact us at info@projectwritenow.org or call 908.675.0467 for more information. Please note that when you register for a class you are reserving one of a limited number of spots available. Your registration also counts toward our consideration of class minimums.
Our organization was founded to help amplify the voices of those who are often not heard—including Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), LGBTQIA+ individuals, and other historically marginalized groups. We have witnessed how writing and sharing stories has the power to effect change by generating greater love, compassion, and empathy in the listener. In all of our programs, we provide an inclusive, supportive, and welcoming environment. We do not tolerate writing that perpetuates harmful stereotypes or fuels hate. Failure to align with our philosophy can result in your removal from class.
