Lynn Z. Bloom - Learning to See: Discovering Your Inner Author

Lynn Z. Bloom is Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor and Aetna Chair of Writing at the University of Connecticut. She learned the essentials of writing from Dr. Seuss, fun; Dr. Strunk and E.B. White, elegant simplicity; her professor at the University of Michigan, Art Eastman, nitpicking revision; and Benjamin Spock, precision. As Spock told her in an interview for Doctor Spock: Biography of a Conservative Radical (1972), her first book, If you don't write clearly, someone could die. These precepts inform the heart, soul, and human voice of her teaching and writing, including her most recent books, Writers Without Borders and The Seven Deadly Virtues and Other Lively Essays (both 2008). She’s now completing Hot Genres: Alluring Nonfiction (U of Iowa, 2015), on a range of creative nonfiction. She’s delighted to be here as a Fulbright Specialist.

Anyone, from young students to graduates and professionals, can learn to write with [greater] ease, efficiency, elegance—and yes, enjoyment! We’ll examine ways in which writers can understand key elements of their preferred writing process, learn to work with (rather than against) these to develop an efficient schedule, enhance clear communication, eliminate distractions, and build in rewards for work accomplished. Learning to see afresh much of what we take for granted about life can keep us alert and happy. This talk draws on Dr. Bloom’s research in overcoming writing anxiety, her application of the results to students K-graduate, her teaching of writing and disability studies, and her ardent experience as a writer.

For further information contact [email protected]