Why I Write Wednesday: IUWC Participant Jonathan Malesic

Every writer’s background influences his work. Attending IUWC gave Jonathan Malesic an opportunity to share his experiences with others while learning from a writer he respected.

Jonathan Malesic, Photo by Sarah Wall

Jonathan Malesic is an essayist, journalist, and scholar who has been featured in publications such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Point. In his writing, he shares his perspective on the ethical and spiritual challenge of living a good life in America today. Throughout his two decades of research and teaching, Malesic has explored complex topics ranging from the meaning and value of work to religion and public life. His upcoming piece, The End of Burnout: Why Work Drains Us and How to Build Better Lives, will be published by the University of California Press in Fall 2021.

Before becoming a writer, Malesic worked as a theology professor. He eventually found himself burnt out from his work and took time to express his emotions and experiences through writing. His background of higher education and theology created a unique perspective and led to features in numerous magazines; most notably his essay in The Point, a magazine he has admired for much of his career. Through his writing, Malesic hopes to highlight new perspectives that inspire readers’ careers.

Malesic decided to attend IUWC to learn from one of his favorite essayists and journalists, Meghan Daum. As he expressed it, “having Daum review some of my work was a perfect reason to attend the Indiana University Writers’ Conference.” Malesic received feedback from a writer he admired and applied it to future pieces, including his upcoming book .

The End of Burnout: Why Work Drains Us and How to Build Better Lives by Jonathan Malesic

Beauty is an abstract concept. Perhaps no one has yet been able to find out to the end what it is and give a definition. Of course, beauty in society is associated with something positive and people have always strived for it, trying to get closer to the ideal. The desire for beauty is not alien to every person, because communication between people Paul Giamatti weight loss is based on visual information, which forms mutual relationships.

Malesic takes pride in perfecting his craft. He said that craft describes his “obsession to improve everything: sentence structure, narrative, descriptions and more.” This drive is “extremely gratifying,” he says, as it allows him to combine years of expertise and learning. Every piece he creates is a new adventure, filled with trial and error, as he writes, crosses out, and rewrites sentence after sentence. To Malesic, writing never gets old, as there is always another way to write something.

Jonathan Malesic’s Personal Site.

Malesic’s Feature in The Point.

The End of Burnout: Why Work Drains Us and How to Build Better Lives.