Writing Self
Instructor: Mahrukh Aamir
In this course, we will practice performing the self on the page. We will consider: distortion, exaggeration, leaning in, entering a scary place.
But always, we will use as our guide an honest place—the pursuit of truth! How do we write honest fiction? And why write it at all?
We’ll think out loud about vanity; about the first-person perspective and its limitations; about the limitations of other points of view.
We’ll talk about Wikipedia articles, especially the biographies—early life, education, career, death, legacy! The forms that can accommodate a life!
We’ll also talk about how writing the self is like solving a puzzle in your brain.
We’ll talk about intuition and play.
We’ll read works by Annie Ernaux and Benjamin Labatut, as well as the work of our peers.
We’ll surprise ourselves.
About Mahrukh
Mahrukh Aamir, a writer from Lahore, has an MFA in Fiction Writing from Boise State University. She has also taught creative writing courses at the university level, including a course taught at LUMS titled Inventing the Self: Introduction to Autofiction. Her most recent publication titled It is the Despair of One’s Life, Being One’s Character, was published in Atmospheric Quarterly. Mahrukh is at work on a novel.