Writing Family Narratives Using Research, Part 2 (in-person class) – This class is now closed.

Instructor: Brendan Wolfe
$150 Members | $165 Nonmembers
Mondays, 5/8/23 – 6/12/23 | 6:00 – 8:30 p.m. ET

Before signing up for this in-person class, please read the following statement about requirements to enroll:

By registering for an in-person offering, you attest that you have been vaccinated for Covid-19. WriterHouse strongly recommends any student at greater risk for contracting Covid-19 wear a mask. In the event of significant Covid-19 upticks, students must be prepared for the mask policy to change and to transition to a virtual platform if necessary. No refunds will be issued if in-person classes/seminars need to transition online.

In this two-part class we will explore the best practices of traditional genealogical research and then integrate our research into nonfiction writing that even people outside of our families will want to read.

In Part 1 of this two-part class, we focused on learning research skills. In Part 2, we’ll focus on our own writing, and specifically how to integrate research with storytelling in ways that make it impossible to separate one from the other. We’ll also continue to read and discuss a wide range of texts that engage with research in different and interesting ways.

Come to class with in-progress writing that you can share. The title of this class notwithstanding, you’re also welcome to pursue a story outside of your family but that you nevertheless find yourself drawn to. But it should involve research.

Part 1 is not a prerequisite but WriterHouse encourages students signing up for Part 1 who want to take Part 2 to sign up early to ensure that they have a spot reserved for the class. Students who have taken Brendan’s research classes in previous sessions are welcome to register for Part 2 to continue workshopping their research-based writing projects.

Brendan Wolfe is a professional genealogist and the author of three books, including Finding Bix: The Life and Afterlife of a Jazz Legend, about a journey the New York Times kindly noted was “well worth reading about.” His personal essays and reviews have been published in Colorado Review, The Morning News, VQR, and Mud Season Review, among others. For twelve years Wolfe edited Encyclopedia Virginia, and has written numerous historical essays, including “History Writ Aright” and “The Train at Wood’s Crossing,” the latter of which was honored by Bunk magazine as the best historical narrative of 2019. It will be included in an anthology of essays about lynching, forthcoming from the University of Virginia Press. Wolfe lives in Charlottesville with his daughter, Beatrix.

This class is now closed.