Liska Jacobs

Liska Jacobs

Instructor Biography: 

MFA, author of two acclaimed novels, Catalina and The Worst Kind of Want, which appeared on the long-list for the Simpson/Joyce Carol Oates Literary Award. Ms. Jacobs’ essays and short fiction have appeared in The Rumpus, Los Angeles Review of Books, Literary Hub, The Millions, and The Hairpin among others.

Instructor Statement: 

Jean Rhys said, “To give life shape—that is what a writer does.” I believe this is true regardless of genre, whether its nonfiction or fiction. To do this we need to learn the fundamentals of good storytelling and develop our critical eye. In doing so we can find our authentic voice, which is unique to each of us. Think of the writer as the bewildered self, inherently alone, journeying outwards in hopes of a deeper understanding. And this is the reader too. It’s how “I” becomes a vehicle for “you.” The transference of the universal. Incommunicable except through the gravity of the written word. Learning to be this honest in our writing takes courage. But if we engage with the work and are prepared to learn through doing, then we just might hit that sweet spot where one person’s humanity reflects the world’s.

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