Here's the latest incredible and unexpected development: We just found out that Luis Urrea will be joining us as a faculty member. Even better, he'll also be teaching a Memoir Master Class. In case you're not familiar with Luis, please be advised that he is a MAJOR addition to our faculty and is among the most sought-after writers in the country. His memoir, Nobody's Son: Notes from an American Life won the American Book Award. His novel The Devil's Highway, was a Pulitzer Prize finalist and won the 2004 Lannan Literary Award as well as the Border Regional Library Association's Southwest Book Award. In 2009 on a bit of a whim he wrote his first-ever mystery short story (“Amapola”) and won nothing less than an Edgar Award.
Luis's Memoir Master Class Workshop will be an intimate opportunity to learn from and work with a true master of the genre. You'll learn about story structure, powerful language, and writing with emotional honesty. Luis is a warm and engaging teacher whose experience and skills are second to none. Watch this short video to see him in action.
His memoir, Nobody's Son: Notes from an American Life, tells a story that is both troubling and wildly entertaining. He is a master of language and a gifted storyteller who uses his dual-culture life experiences to explore greater themes of love, loss and triumph. Urrea endured violence and fear in the black and Mexican barrio of his youth. But the true battlefield was inside his home, where his parents waged daily war over their son's ethnicity. "You are not a Mexican!" his mother once screamed at him. "Why can't you be called Louis instead of Luis?" He suffers disease and abuse and he learns brutal lessons about machismo. But there are gentler moments as well: a simple interlude with his father, sitting on the back of a bakery truck; witnessing the ultimate gesture of tenderness between the godparents who taught him the magical power of love. "I am nobody's son. I am everybody's brother," writes Urrea.
The author of fourteen books, Luis Urrea has published extensively in many genres. His highly acclaimed historical novels The Hummingbird’s Daughter and Queen of America together tell the story of Teresita Urrea, a great aunt who was a healer and Mexican folk hero at the tum of the 20th century. These two books, which involved more that 20 years of research and writing, are an epic work honoring the life of an incredible woman. Collectively The Devil’s Highway, The Hummingbird’s Daughter and his 2008 novel Into the Beautiful North have been chosen by more than thirty different cities and colleges across the country for One Book community read programs.
The Memoir Master Class Workshop is destined to fill quickly. There are only 15 seats, so don't wait. Register for your seat now.
Luis's Memoir Master Class Workshop will be an intimate opportunity to learn from and work with a true master of the genre. You'll learn about story structure, powerful language, and writing with emotional honesty. Luis is a warm and engaging teacher whose experience and skills are second to none. Watch this short video to see him in action.
His memoir, Nobody's Son: Notes from an American Life, tells a story that is both troubling and wildly entertaining. He is a master of language and a gifted storyteller who uses his dual-culture life experiences to explore greater themes of love, loss and triumph. Urrea endured violence and fear in the black and Mexican barrio of his youth. But the true battlefield was inside his home, where his parents waged daily war over their son's ethnicity. "You are not a Mexican!" his mother once screamed at him. "Why can't you be called Louis instead of Luis?" He suffers disease and abuse and he learns brutal lessons about machismo. But there are gentler moments as well: a simple interlude with his father, sitting on the back of a bakery truck; witnessing the ultimate gesture of tenderness between the godparents who taught him the magical power of love. "I am nobody's son. I am everybody's brother," writes Urrea.
The author of fourteen books, Luis Urrea has published extensively in many genres. His highly acclaimed historical novels The Hummingbird’s Daughter and Queen of America together tell the story of Teresita Urrea, a great aunt who was a healer and Mexican folk hero at the tum of the 20th century. These two books, which involved more that 20 years of research and writing, are an epic work honoring the life of an incredible woman. Collectively The Devil’s Highway, The Hummingbird’s Daughter and his 2008 novel Into the Beautiful North have been chosen by more than thirty different cities and colleges across the country for One Book community read programs.
The Memoir Master Class Workshop is destined to fill quickly. There are only 15 seats, so don't wait. Register for your seat now.
