“The Class You Want …”

At the end of most semesters, I write a note to my classes, a summation of sorts. Last semester I summed up my feelings for my creative writing students in what became the essay, “The Class You Want I Will Not Teach.” It wasn’t aimed at them. They were a motivated, joyful bunch. The content of the piece had been on my mind, coalescing over the course of several years of teaching, and, as fellow writers, I thought this group of student writers would appreciate what I was attempting to say.

Thanks to the folks at Whale Road Review who published it. This is only their second issue, and their enthusiasm is boundless. In addition to nominating authors for writing awards, they sent me a hand-written thank you note before press time, and even used a Harry Potter stamp to mail it. They pay attention to details, and they are proud of their work. They have made publishing this piece as exciting as publishing my first piece a few years back.

Here’s the link: http://www.whaleroadreview.com/moss/

Published by N. West Moss, author

FLESH & BLOOD: Reflections on Infertility, Family, and Creating a Bountiful Life (October 12, 2021, from Algonquin) My work has appeared in The New York Times, Brevity, River Teeth, Salon, The Saturday Evening Post, and elsewhere. My short story collection, The Subway Stops at Bryant Park was published by Leapfrog (2017). I am a fellow at MacDowell, VCCA, and Cill Rialig. My work has won the Saturday Evening Post's Great American Fiction Contest, 3 Faulkner-Wisdom gold medals (for essay, short story, and memoir), as well as the The Diana Woods Creative nonfiction award. My work has been twice nominated for a Pushcart Prize View more posts

5 thoughts on ““The Class You Want …””

This is such a classic — can I disseminate it on Facebook? It would be interesting to know what your students’ reaction to this letter was, though I know that sometimes a word you said or wrote can mean a lot to students without their ever telling you that. Same with writers.

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Thank you Ann – Please feel free to share. As for my students, that was rather a magical class. I asked everyone to bring in a toast of sorts for the final day, and this was mine at the very end. I had pushed them all hard and after I read, there was silence, and even a few tears. I told them they could leave early after that as it was our final class, but no one left. We sat in a circle and talked and talked. It was that kind of class.

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