4-Week: Craft Lessons from Roberto Bolaño's Last Evenings on Earth

In his collection of short stories, Last Evenings on Earth, Roberto Bolaño presents a devastatingly interesting world about characters who, on the surface, are quite boring. That is to say, the protagonists of his stories are writers, many of these writers are mediocre. The stories which proceed from these characters are often stories where “not much happens.” However, through the beauty of the words, the high-octane prose, and complicating the narrative, Bolaño propels his readers forward. In this class, we’ll discuss the techniques Bolaño uses to make the mundane seem epic and the everyday seem worthy of story.

Required Text:
Last Evenings on Earth, by Roberto Bolaño