September 15, 2026 Reading and Writing True Crime, 4-week online course Morbid Anatomy. Also available anytime, on-demand.
Are you morbidly curious? Do you love talking, thinking, and reading about true crime? Do you like to investigate, explore, research strange, disturbing events? The recent upsurge of interest in true crime is not new; it feeds on a long-established historical tradition. People have always been drawn to unusual and bizarre criminal cases, but most are merely transfixed by the latest headlines, rarely stopping to think deeply about the complexities of the case. The surface drama, intrigue and suspense in superficial true crime narratives conceals how they are transformed in such a way that panders to public appeal. This class will dive beneath this surface, investigating how crimes are like poems, with their own style, undercurrents, imagery, and moods.
October 1, 6-7PM, “A Double Life: The Anatomy of a Premeditated Murder” Book Launch and Lecture, Enoch Pratt Free Library, Baltimore, with poet Jane Lewty (in-person and online).
October 28, 2026 The Uncanny as Creative Catalyst (single online lecture), Rendering Unconscious Center for Psychoanalysis, 11AM ET
The Uncanny as Creative Catalyst, 4-week online course, Wednesdays, November 11 – December 2, 2026 7:00 – 8:30pm ET. Morbid Anatomy. Classes will be recorded and archived.
The hair on the back of your neck is standing up. Goosebumps are rising on your arms. You feel a shudder of horror, but you can’t explain why. Something creepy is going on. Chances are, you are in the presence of the uncanny. We often toss around this word loosely, referring, for example, to an “uncanny coincidence.” In this course, we will take inspiration from the uncanny in its original meaning, as defined by pioneering psychologist Sigmund Freud. In his famous 1919 paper “The Uncanny,” Freud defined the uncanny as the feeling evoked by being in the presence of something simultaneously familiar and strange. His theory was rooted in everyday experiences related to what is frightening, repulsive and distressing. In this course, we will cultivate the experience of the uncanny as a resource for writing, a springboard for creativity, and a catalyst for discussion. We will challenge ourselves to find examples of the uncanny in literature, film, art, and the popular culture that surrounds us every day. We will engage with the uncanny across a wide range of texts and contexts, drawing our inspiration from the examples provided by Freud: the horrific concepts of inanimate figures coming to life, severed limbs, ghosts, doppelgangers, mirrors, shadows, guardian spirits, animism, magic, telepathy, death and rebirth. We’ll also consider how to incorporate the uncanny into our own creative writing and art.