Writing Your Life: How to Turn Personal Experiences into Literature - Published poet Yonatan Berg

Writing Your Life: How to Turn Personal Experiences into Literature

Have you ever wondered how to turn your own life into a compelling story?

More and more writers today are exploring autofiction, a style of literature that takes real-life details—from the streets they walk to the people who shape their days—and puts them on the page.

In this talk, Yonatan Berg will show you how authors like Karl Ove Knausgård, Emmanuel Carrère, and Vivian Gornick transform everyday experiences into powerful narratives. He’ll dive into some key questions:

* How do you make your personal life feel like a work of literature?

* What techniques allow writers to move effortlessly between memory, reflection, and storytelling?

* How does this kind of writing capture human consciousness in a world full of movies and TV shows?

Using examples from Knausgård’s My Struggle to Gornick’s intimate essays, Berg will demonstrate how shifting timelines, inner monologues, and a sharp focus on detail can make the ordinary feel extraordinary.

This talk will not only give you a glimpse into the mysterious human soul but also invite you to see your own life in a new light, reminding you that everyone's story is worth telling.

Yonatan Berg is an award-winning poet and author with a rich body of work spanning both poetry and prose. A recognized voice in contemporary literature, he has published seven books of poetry and five works of prose. His English-language collection, Frayed Light, was a finalist for the National Jewish Book Award in 2019.

Berg's expertise extends beyond his writing; he is also a bibliotherapist, a creative writing teacher, and a lecturer specializing in international poetry and literature. He is known for his ability to connect with diverse audiences, sharing his insights into the craft of writing and the power of storytelling. Field of Study: Bibliotherapy (M.A.) Thematic Focus: Literary Cartography of the Self Literary Corpus: 3 Books of Poetry, 2 Novels, 1 Memoir Recognition Nexus: Yehuda Amichai Prize / Ministry of Culture Prize Academic Affiliate: University of Haifa / Tel Aviv University

Doors open at 18:45 – Arrive early, grab a seat, and settle in.

Talk starts at 19:30 and runs until around 21:00.

Price includes light drinks.

Stick around afterward—good conversations don’t have closing times.