Life-Writing, Fragmentary and Experimental Memoir (for intermediate writers)
How can we write about our lived experience?
This course aims to encourage, support, and excite participants in engaging with creative writing in a safe and informal space.
During this course we will undertake exercises to provoke experimental and exploratory writing for those who have some writing experience. We will read published literary examples and begin to critique styles, structure and techniques.
Life-writing, Fragmentary and Experimental Memoir: Summer 2026
| Details | Description |
|---|---|
| When | Wednesday evenings, 6 pm - 8 pm |
| Dates |
8 meetings 29 April to 24 June 2026 (no class 27 May) |
| Where | The first and last sessions will be in-person on campus at the University of Bristol Arts Complex, Woodland Road, Bristol BS8 1TB and the remainder of the sessions will take place online via MS Teams. |
| Course tutor | Davina Quinlivan |
| Description |
The best examples of life-writing and memoir have always been those that tell stories through highly generative and creative ways of seeing the world. The ‘memoirist’ is a particular kind of storyteller within literary traditions across the globe and this course will call attention to the most innovative and nuanced examples, from nature and travel writing to biography and autofiction. Together, we will discuss and critique these varied approaches to memoir and life-writing, using the reading list books as exemplars and starting points. We'll explore these strong and emerging genres that can blend autobiographical writing and non-fiction. How do we create an engaging 'story' that binds our material together? What can be included and what should be edited out? How best to structure material? Every week, we'll do exercises to explore aspects of the craft of writing, including how to progress and structure your writing, how to develop an individual narrative voice, mapping your plot, and how to integrate non-fiction material. Can dialogue be included/created? What kind of source material can be used? How do we navigate the vagaries of memory and differing points of view? Do we need to get the permission of others? |
| Course outline/Reading list |
Week 1: Time/Travel: Davina Quinlivan, Shalimar: A Story of Place and Migration (Little Toller Books, 2022); Jeff Young, Wild Twin (Little Toller Books, 2024) Week 2: Body and Voice: Margo Jefferson, Constructing a Nervous System (Granta, 2022) Week 3: Memory, Stars, Healing: Nona Fernandez, Voyager: Constellations of Memory (Daunt, 2023); Arifa Akhbar, Wolf Moon (Hachette UK, 2025). Week 4: Nature, Poetry: Elizabeth-Jane Burnett, The Grassling A Geological Memoir (Allen Lane, 2019) Week 5: Encountering A Sense of Place: Noreen Masud, A Flat Place (Hamish Hamilton, 2023); Deborah Levy, Real Estate (Hamish Hamilton, 2021). Week 6: Magic and the Occult: Dalia Neis: Zephyrian Spools: An Essay, A Wind (Knives Forks Spoon Press, 2020); extracts from Davina Quinlivan, Possessions: A Memoir (September Publishing, 2025). Week 7: Sacred Language, Landscape and the Living World: Amina Khan, The Slough of Despond (Guillemot Press, 2024); Dalia al-Dujaili, Babylon, Albion A Personal History of Myth and Migration (Saqi Press, 2025) Week 8: 'Taper Burns': 21st Century Resistance and Transformation: Naomi Klein, Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror World (Penguin, 2023); Jen Calleja, Goblinhood: Goblin as a Mode (Rough Trade, 2024); Maggie Nelson, The Slicks: On Sylvia Plath and Taylor Swift (Penguin, 2025) and The Maps of Ursula K LeGuin |
| Course fee |
£190 |
| Previous qualifications/eligibility | No qualifications needed. Open to the public. Please note this course is for UK-based participants only. |