Can Classical Flugelhorn Really Be Taught?

The question of whether writing can be taught has always cracked me up. It’s important to discuss the best ways to teach writing, but it’s odd that the question itself magnetizes to writing in a way it never sticks to teaching classical ballet or stone carving or watercolor painting or Shakespearean acting or opera.

In short: The right teacher could make anyone better at any of those things, or at origami or landscape architecture or the mouth organ or writing. Yes, writing can of course be taught, and it can be learned—in many ways and environments—and I’m so happy that teaching writing is a regular part of my life.

This is all a flimsy excuse to say that here are three things I think you should check out if you’re a writer, or would like to be one soon: a course from a brilliant instructor, something new for high school authors, and a retreat I’m running in Tuscany (yep!) this spring.

1) Study Sentence and Scene with Paul Lisicky

Teaching at various conferences, I have the privilege of getting to know who’s a great writing instructor by hearing their craft lectures and (perhaps more importantly) hearing what students say about their classes. The memoirist Paul Lisicky is not only a brilliant writer but also a gifted teacher, and I’m so delighted he’s teaching a four-part online class for us at StoryStudio (where I’m Artistic Director). It starts TONIGHT (Oct. 14th), although you can join it later, too.

In “The Sentence Alive,” he’ll explore the deep architecture of memoir at the level of the sentence and the scene, through lectures “for writers who want to bring more presence, vitality, and distinctiveness to their prose.” (I’d advise that this class would be fantastic for fiction writers, too.)

A couple of details:
- It’s online! 6:30-8:30 pm CT, for four Wednesdays—but each class is recorded, so you could watch it later (or review it again later) as needed. It’s also possible to join the course after the first session and catch up via video.
- It’s an uncapped seminar, so there will be a few dozen attendees. That means we can make it more affordable than usual.

Here’s what he’ll cover:
Week 1: Sound and Sense – Exploring music, breath, repetition, pauses, and the acoustics of memory.
Week 2: Texture and Description – Making abstraction palpable; sensory description for emotional and thematic depth.
Week 3: Scene and Structure – Constructing scenes that move between the spoken and the interior; choreography, pacing, tension.
Week 4: Vision in the Micro – A close reading of individual, iconic paragraphs to locate voice, pattern, and worldview. How does the granular imply the global?

You can sign up right here.

2) Send us your teens!

I started to take writing very seriously around ninth grade. This was thanks to a fantastic public library and to encouraging teachers, one of whom wrote “Lit mag!” (as in, “you should send this to the school literary magazine”) on top of a creative piece I’d written just a few weeks into high school. I can’t remember if I dared to submit that piece as a freshman, but by senior year I was an editor, one of the kids sprawled on a classroom floor once a week reading other people’s submissions. (Also, how fun was it to make hand-lettered posters that read SUBMIT! (to the lit mag)? If something like the new journal STET had existed then, I’d have been first in line for every single thing they did.

Billy Lombardo, a lifelong educator, has experience building a successful international lit mag for high school writers, and we are so lucky that he’s doing it again at StoryStudio.

The way it works:

1) High school students from absolutely anywhere can send in stories, essays, poems, or visual art for consideration. Those chosen will be published in a physical journal (as well as online)—something they can hold in their hands, save forever, give copies of to family and friends or their school library.

2) The editors are students, too. High schoolers (for now, just ones local to Chicago) can enroll in classes with Billy to learn the art of editing, and to grow into senior editorial positions.

Submissions are open now, and you can find out more about the editorial program right here.

3) Come write with me in Tuscany!

The reason you might’ve noticed me leading more retreats lately is that they work. I just finished leading one in Andalusia, and am sad to part with a group of extraordinary writers who produced a ton of writing, made artistic breakthroughs, and bonded over meals and late-night chats. There’s a palpable magic to the uninterrupted time to focus on your writing.

In May, I’m leading a retreat in Tuscany, and there are just a couple of spots left. This one is a bit different because I get to bring along one of my favorite literary agents, Duvall Osteen, plus former Big 5 acquisitions editor David Cashion, and all three of us will work with you.

It’s a six-day retreat, with no more than nine writers in your cohort. I’ll lead daily morning seminars, and in the afternoons you’ll meet with Duvall and David to elevate your manuscript and learn about publishing. Classes will be tailored to our group’s needs and interests (we’ll all have seen a sample of your work in advance) and you’ll have time to write, reflect, and connect with other writers. Plus you can explore the beautiful surroundings (and swim in the stunning pool) in TUSCANY.

This retreat is for anyone, whether you’re midway through a project, just starting out, or have a completed manuscript.

Included: lodging at a gorgeous 1000 year-old villa, transfers from and to your flights, delicious fresh food from a professional chef, an authentic Italian cookery class, a Michelinstarred restaurant meal, industry happy hours, and more.

You can find out more here.

Also:

I have the hubristic theory that if you’ve studied a couple other romance languages, you can speak Italian just by guessing. Table? Probably un tavolo. Door? Probably una porta. Ecco la stazione! La signora è in flamme! La banca è piena di formaggio! I know I’m wrong, but I still expect to be magically fluent at the end of the six days.

Also also:

For paid subscribers: If you were involved in your high school lit mag or have a related memory, please share it below. I’m feeling suddenly nostalgic!