Literary Nonfiction
"We do not stop time’s passage in writing: we understand it." –Diane Comer
Diane Comer, PhD
Writer — Teacher — Researcher
"My Favorite Boot"
"I was born in Italy, halfway between Verona and Venice, in Palladio’s city of Vicenza. I’m Italian by birth, not blood, but I’m Italian, truly, by nature. I like family, naps, food, and wine. I like art, architecture, espresso, and stylish, glorious, effortless clothes. I like well-woven wool and gorgeous yarn, some skeins tangled with phosphorescence...."
North American Review
Founded in 1815, the North American Review is the USA's oldest literary magazine. Among its contributors: Charles Eliot Norton, Henry James, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, John Steinbeck, Mark Twain, H.G. Wells, Walt Whitman, Margaret Atwood, Raymond Carver, Donald Justice, Yosef Komunyakaa, Kurt Vonnegut, Barry Lopez, and Joyce Carol Oates.
Interviews
Diane was an invited speaker at the 2021 Under Rough Ridge Writers' Retreat, noted in Pallas Hupe Cotter's Central Sunday write-up.
Also, see Diane's interview in Down in Edin Magazine (Sept. 2019, issue 18).
Other Writing
"Often what propels us forward is absence, not presence" — read selected passages in this section of Literary Nonfiction.
Current & Forthcoming Courses
How does the story help?
Personal Essay Workshop
2 May – 20 June 2024
For five centuries, the personal essay has flourished as the genre of discovery, driven by the writer’s own habit of inquiry and attention. As individual and curious as the writer’s own mind, the personal essay reflects Montaigne’s maxim that 'Every man has within himself the entire human condition'. This 8-week interactive workshop invites you to chart your own thinking and experience in non-fiction’s most versatile form of writing....
Writing Memoir
forthcoming
Through writing a memoir we realise how much we live forwards and understand backwards. Memoirs combine narration with reflection, and from the wealth of images and memory a story emerges that is known only to and through you. This interactive workshop invites you to explore and shape your own life experience in writing. Over eight weeks, you will build on your writing from week to week ....
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Creative Nonfiction Workshop
forthcoming
“No maps or anything, just words. But words leading precisely to what I searched for.” – Odysseas Elytis
The genres of fiction and nonfiction share more than they separate, and this interactive workshop is designed to explore where they overlap. Sharing your writing and commenting on your peer’s work is an integral part of this workshop. You will receive tailored written feedback from the tutor on the pieces you write throughout the course. Over eight sessions, you will explore ....
Contact Diane
022 510 2910 in New Zealand
+64 225 102 910 for international calls
literarynonfiction@gmail.com
