University of Iowa

Nancy K. Barry

Nancy K. Barry (Ph.D., University of Illinois) is a playwright and essayist who teaches creative nonfiction writing at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa. Her essays have appeared in Iowa Woman, the Chicago Tribune, and the Baltimore Sun. Her one-woman show, Lessons from Cancer College, details a year spent as a teacher undergoing treatment for breast cancer. She has been the host of a radio show on writing (“The Naked Page”) and a podcast, “Writing Out Loud.”

Instructor Events

Revising How You Revise: A Workshop for Nonfiction Writers

Weeklong July 21 to July 26 2019
Instructor(s): 
Nancy K. Barry

We all know that revision is the deepest level of “work” that we do on any piece of writing we compose, but not all writers have a system in place for what to actually DO once they set themselves to the task. By listening carefully to what the draft is saying, and by applying some specific criteria to handling a manuscript in different stages, writers can begin to be more systematic, and less vulnerable, to the enduring and sometimes maddening work of revision.

Whose Voice Is This?: A Primer on Style

Weekend July 27 to July 28 2019
Instructor(s): 
Nancy K. Barry

Most writers and readers will tell you that to have an engaging style, we need to capture the sound of a “real person speaking.” Yet, it is equally true that good prose is not merely “writing down what people say.” How do we navigate getting the sound and resonance of our “style” down on the page, and how would we even begin to describe the sound we’re trying to achieve? This workshop provides a two-day entry into defining and manipulating prose styles.