A course in writing non-fiction and the informal essay. Potential topics include childhood memoir and family history; travel and place; popular culture --movies, TV, and music; journalistic subjects--interviews, profiles, issues; autobiographical narratives on topics like work, avocation, education; and parody and satire. Readings will include modern and contemporary writers like Frank McCourt, John Updike, Joan Didion, James Baldwin, George Orwell, John McPhee, Tom Wolfe, John Wideman, Maxine Hong Kingston, Alice Walker. Attention to developing ideas and concise style, as well as practice in editing, revision, and critical reading of student papers in a writing workshop.