Battle. War. Fight. Lost. Won. Victim. These are words often used to describe illness, mental or physical. But as we know, the experience of illness is much more complex and nuanced than that; while it calls to language and story making in some ways, it often evades language at the same time. Why? What is it that makes writing about illness so difficult? In this three-hour workshop, we'll read and analyze a handful of short passages to from authors who’ve mastered writing about illness: Suleika Jaouad (Between Two Kingdoms), Porochista Khakpour (Sick), Leslie Jamison (The Empathy Exams), and Stephanie Foo (What My Bones Know). Then, using what we've learned, we'll write our own paragraphs, share them, and give first-blush feedback to gain a clearer sense of how to write about illness.
This course is part of our Visiting Author Series. To learn more and purchase discounted tickets, please click here.
Maria Smilios is the award-winning author of the The Black Angels: The Untold Story of the Nurses Who Helped Cure Tuberculosis, which won the 2024 Christopher Award in literature that celebrates works that "affirm the highest values of the human spirit." It was also a finalist for the prestigious Gotham Book Prize, an NASW Science in Society Journalism finalist, an NPR Science Friday pick, and shortlisted for the English PEN literary award.
Smilios was recently honored by New York City and State for “outstanding service” and “positive contribution” to the people of New York. The book greatly informed and inspired the Staten Island Museum’s exhibit “Taking Care: The Black Angels of Sea View,” which is on display through November of 2024.
A keynote speaker and adjunct lecturer at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, she was born and raised in New York City. She holds a Master of Arts in American literature and religion from Boston University, where she was a Luce and Presidential scholar. Her work has appeared in The Guardian, Narratively, The Forward, Lit Hub, Writers Digest, The Emancipator, Newsweek, and other publications.
