This fall, a new series sponsored by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and the School of Professional Studies invites distinguished writers, including Eric Hayot, Emily Bazelon, Jelani Cobb, Paul Sabin, and Viet Thanh Nguyen, to discuss the craft and strategy of writing to change minds and leave a lasting impact on the world.
In each session of the Columbia Public Writing Series, renowned writers join academic leaders from across the university in spirited conversation to examine the art of writing for public audiences. From sentence-level analyses of craft, to wider discussions of how a specific piece of writing addresses critical issues of the day, such as incarceration, climate change, and refugee crises, the sessions share tactics and tools to produce compelling and persuasive storytelling. As a result, participants learn to think like professional writers—and to build specific skills necessary for their work to reach national and international audiences.
The series began October 21 with Eric Hayot on "A Series of Introductions: Selected Excerpts from Public Writers." We know writing for public-facing venues is different from writing an article or a seminar paper. But how? Hayot led a seminar on the craft of introductions: grabbing your audience in those first few sentences, positioning yourself as a writer, and creating a compelling reading experience. Participants were asked to read thirteen introductions by twelve different writers, and the session focused on the authors' use of style and rhythm, storytelling and exposition, structure and form.
Nineteen-year-old Yutico Briley had served six years of a 60-year prison sentence when he wrote to journalist Emily Bazelon, asking for her help in proving his innocence. On October 28, Bazelon will discuss her process in reporting and writing the New York Times Magazine article, “I Write About the Law. But Could I Really Help Free a Prisoner?” She will dive into the choices she made in its development, from deciding to seek out a lawyer for Briley, to writing the piece in the first person, as well as the response to the article and the aftermath for Briley.
The series continues through the fall semester. On November 11, Columbia Journalism School Professor Jelani Cobb joins the series with an examination of his New Yorker article on attorney Derrick Bell, “The Man Behind Critical Race Theory,” and on December 8, Yale Professor Paul Sabin will explore the writing techniques used in his New York Times op-ed, “How Liberals Can Attack From the Left—and Win.” On December 13, University of Southern California Professor Viet Thanh Nguyen analyzes his New York Times op-ed, “I Can’t Forget the Lessons of Vietnam. Neither Should You.”
Panels are moderated by a variety of academic leaders at Columbia, including EVP and Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Amy Hungerford; Columbia Law School Professor Bernard Harcourt; Dean of Social Sciences in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Frederick C. Harris; and Dean of Humanities in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Sarah Cole.
All members of the Columbia community are welcome to attend and engage with the reading materials in advance of the events.