Course Review: Writing Trauma with Roxane Gay

by Sarah Tabin

Roxane Gay

Over the past semester, Professor Gay has taught us to critically examine trauma scenes in films and novels, trauma reporting in the media, and trauma described in personal memoirs and essays.  We have discussed trauma tropes, like the lazy rape scene, and what the consequences are when trauma writing is designed to titillate rather than to inform.  We have read work from brilliant writers and thinkers including Terese Marie Mailhot, Saeed Jones, Dr. Tressie McMillan Cottom, and Aubrey Hirsch.  We were then able to meet some of the authors whose work we had discussed in class at a panel on trauma writing that Professor Gay organized. 

Aspects of the class have been challenging.  It is difficult to read and write trauma and not feel sad and hopeless at times.  But, the emotional stress that comes with discussing trauma has been mitigated by having a class full of empathetic and caring peers with whom I can work through my feelings about the readings.  I am in awe of all of my classmates both as people and writers and feel very lucky to be in a seminar with all of them.  We are also lucky to have a wonderful graduate teaching assistant, Cera Smith, who has put hours into helping us with our writing and who goes out of her way to make sure everyone in the class is doing okay after we read distressing pieces.

I am interested in both fiction and nonfiction writing and I appreciate the freedom Professor Gay has given us in exploring different genres in our own work. Her feedback on my writing has been invaluable and it had been a huge privilege to get to workshop my pieces with one of my writing heroes. Professor Gay is funny and kind and it still feels a little surreal that I get to take a class with her.