Leslie Jamison: Make it Scream, Make it Burn

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American writer Leslie Jamison is one of the most widely respected voices in creative non-fiction today. In May, she’ll discuss her latest essay collection – Make it Scream, Make it Burn.

Jamison’s bestselling 2014 essay collection, The Empathy Exams, probed the question of how we seek to understand other people and their experiences. Her writing was lauded for its lyricism, compassion, rigour and clear-eyed honesty; her skill was likened to greats such as Joan Didion and Susan Sontag.

Her 2018 book, The Recovering, was a critical exploration of addiction and recovery, and the stories we tell about them. Combining memoir, criticism, history and journalism, the book offered an ambitious investigation into our complicated experiences of compulsion, dependence and desire.

With Make it Scream, Make it Burn, Jamison turns her eye to the dynamics of haunting, fascination and obsession. Described by the author as a counterpoint to The Empathy Exams, its 14 essays find us on the inside looking outward – taking in ‘the loneliest whale in the world’ and his devoted followers; children who vividly remember their past lives; a Croatian museum filled with the debris of broken relationships. What happens when we can’t look away?

Join this exceptionally talented writer at Melbourne’s Deakin Edge.