Event—Adult Education

Architectural Stories: A Writing Workshop

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Haunted houses, hovels, brutalist towers, impossible dream homes.

An illustrated architectural study viewing one building through another with lots of columns to the left and right.

Illustration from Variae Architecturae Formae, Jan and Lucas Van Doetecum, 1636. Source: The Public Domain Review.

Class Description

In this generative writing workshop, we'll use architecture as a launchpad for new writing, drawing from memory, history, and imagination. Texts by Gaston Bachelard, Jorge Louis Borges, John Updike, Daphne du Maurier, Shirley Jackson, and Kate Bernheimer will offer food for thought and additional inspiration. Participants will have the option to give a mini-presentation on an architectural style or particular building they wish to research. They will also have the opportunity to share their writing for peer and instructor feedback.

Anca L. Szilágyi is the author of  Daughters of the Air, which Shelf Awareness called “a striking debut” and Dreams Under Glass, which Buzzfeed Books called “a novel for our modern times.” She has taught creative writing since 2010.

All virtual classes are recorded and made available to participants registered in the class. These recordings are password-protected and available for up to two weeks after the class ends.

Materials List

Required

  • Digital Course Packet

A Brief Syllabus

  1. Houses in Memory and Imagination
  2. Fairy Tale Structures
  3. The Gothic, The Haunted
  4. Choose Your Own Architectural Adventure

Cost and Registration

4 Sessions, $200 ($180 for Newberry members, seniors, and students). Learn about becoming a member.

We offer our classes at three different price options: Regular ($200), Community Supported ($190), and Sponsor ($210). Following the models of other institutions, we want to ensure that our classes are accessible to a wider audience while continuing to support our instructors. You may choose the price that best fits your situation when registering through Learning Stream.

To register multiple people for this class, please go through the course calendar in Learning Stream, our registration platform. When you select the course and register, you’ll be prompted to add another registrant.

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Call us at (312) 255-3700 or send us an email at adulteducation@newberry.org.

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