Writing Mystical, Spiritual, and Altered Experiences

Because mystical, spiritual, and altered states of experience have always been a part of human life, we've always been trying to write about them. While some try to claim these subjects are frivolous, dated, or even dangerous, writers keep coming back to them, including some of the best writers of our time. Lucky for us, the results have been exhilarating. In this class, we'll look at a range of writers and forms to understand how these ancient subjects are handled in the contemporary context, including works by journalists Michael Pollan and Jia Tolentino, Scientists Robin Wall Kimmerer and Oliver Sacks, fiction writers Denis Johnson and Hillary Mantel, and poets Max Ritvo and Christopher Wiman. Most importantly, we'll write our own pieces of questioning, exploration, and awe.