Sergei Gandlevsky Teaches a Course for Students of MA in Creative Writing
As part of the course ‘History and Poetry of Non-Fiction Genres of the 18th to 20th centuries’, students examined the features of the essay genre.
Sergei Gandlevsky is a poet, writer and essayist. He taught HSE MA students how to write an essay. He gave a fascinating lecture on the history and features of the essay genre. According to the professor, a good essay is similar to poetry, since ‘it implies more than it actually says.’ The first two sessions were devoted to reading and discussing essays by Samuel Lurie. The second part of the course was practical: every student had to write an essay on the topic ‘Experience’. At the last session, the students critically examined each piece of writing with the help of their professor.