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Syllabus Introduction to Creative Writing (ENGL 210-section 3) Fall 2009 T TH 8:00am-9:15am Wheatley W01-0052 Professor: Barbara Perez Email: barbara.perez001@umb.edu Office Hours: Tuesday and Thursday 9:30am-11:30am, or by appointment Office: Wheatley, 6th Floor, Room 23 Required Texts: • Burroway, Janet. Imaginative Writing: The Elements of Craft (2nd Edition). Penguin Academics, 2007. • eReserve texts, links, and (emailed) handouts will also be assigned throughout the semester. Course Goals: This course is an introduction to the process of writing poetry and fiction, and is designed to encourage you to think and write creatively, enable you to read and respond critically, and introduce you to the terminology and basic elements of writing craft. We will examine a variety of published poems and stories from our text and hand-outs, as well as each other’s work, in an effort to shed light on what makes for effective writing (including, but not limited to: image, rhythm, voice, dialogue, character, conflict and setting). As well as studying these elements in the works of others, you will be putting these ideas directly to work in the poetry and fiction you produce for class. During the course of the semester, you will complete in class writing exercises, and out of class assignments, including individual and group exercises, free writing, and formal assignments. By working in both poetry and fiction, and receiving feedback (in the form of written and oral critiques) from your peers and from me, you will begin to develop a working understanding of how poetic and narrative techniques work. It is hoped that by the end of this course, you will have learned to write more creatively—artfully—about the things that matter to you. We all have something unique to say about the world in which we live; this course aims to help you develop the skills to deliver your poetic and fictional expressions in an artful, engaging way. During the first two thirds of the course, we will read and write poems with emphasis on imagery, rhythm, and voice, and we will read and write fiction paying close attention to character development, conflict/plot, setting and dialogue. The third part of the semester will be devoted to the continuation and revision of your work in both forms. Throughout the semester, we will be “workshopping” each other’s work, first in small groups and then as a class. Reading: In addition to weekly homework and in-class writing assignments, you are responsible for weekly reading assignments from the Burroway text, Imaginative Writing, eReserve texts, emailed links to poems and stories, and occasional handouts. Because class participation is a large part of your grade, it is important that you complete all reading assignments before coming to class. During workshop weeks, you will also be responsible for reading the poems and short stories of the classmates in your assigned group. You should come to class prepared to critique the assigned poem or story just as you would come to class prepared to discuss the assigned homework reading. Class Participation: This is an interactive, discussion-based class. Your presence and participation are necessary and required. In addition to class discussions, class participation will also take the form of in-class writing exercises, weekly writing assignments, and possible quizzes. You are responsible for one weekly out-of-class writing assignment, as well as in-class exercises and reading assignments as assigned. Again, it is important that you come to class prepared to discuss the reading and writing assignments for the week. These assignments will help to familiarize you with the creative revision process and will collectively lead to a final portfolio of work that will include several short poems and two short stories. Workshops: During the semester, you will also participate in workshop critiques of one short story and one poem. The workshop discussions will be held in groups, however you will be required to turn in individual comments on each poem or story within your group. You are responsible for significant revisions and idea developments to at least one short story and one poem. Both original and revised versions of all creative work (poems and stories) are to be included in the final portfolio. It is important to note that no individual poem or piece of fiction you hand in will be graded, only the complete portfolio (your timely turning in of each poem, short story, and individual comments on the work of your peers) as a measure of your growth as a writer over the course of the semester. Writing is a daily habit that must be developed. As such, it is important, both for your grade and your growth as a writer, to keep up with the weekly and writing assignments. You will be required to write (at least 5) one-paragraph long Classmate Critiques in response to the work of everyone in your group, and one critical response in letter form to one other assigned student in your group. Each such letter will consist of at least the following: 2 things you felt were strengths of the piece, two inquiries into or questions about the piece, and one helpful suggestion. (Pay special attention to Burroway’s suggestions on page xxvii of the Invitation to the Writer section of the Introduction for help with this.) More specific instructions for critiques and workshop participation will be given out later in the semester. These critiques will be graded. Attendance: You are allowed no more than three unexcused absences. Unexcused absences are ones you have not notified me of in advance. In the event of an accident or an emergency, you should still discuss your absence(s) with me after they have occurred. Otherwise, your absences will still be counted as unexcused. Please take the time to email me if you find you cannot make class. In the event of any absence, I appreciate contact with you as soon as possible. Whether the absence is excused or not, you are responsible for keeping up with the work you have missed. You may want to exchange phone numbers or email addresses with someone in class in case you miss a class. If you exceed more than three unexcused absences or, for any reason, miss more than three classes, you risk failing the course. Literary Reading Attendance: Learning to read aloud and develop an ear for poetry and literature is just as important as learning the devices that construct it. During the semester, we will read and hear a number of works on our own, aloud in class, and in a social setting. As part of your grade, you will attend a literary reading (either poetry or fiction) and will write a short 1-2 page (double-spaced) response paper on the reading of your choice (due within 1 week of the scheduled reading). Your response paper should focus on what you found interesting (or uninteresting) about the reading itself as well as the writing. Did hearing the work hinder the text? Did hearing the work read aloud offer you new insights? This paper will be graded, though attendance of the reading will have to take place outside of class time. There are numerous readings scheduled on campus throughout the semester, at local bookstores, and at other universities and sites around Boston. I will be announcing readings as they are scheduled. Also, just a tip: Do not wait until the last minute to attend a reading! Conferences: You will be required to attend two 15-minute progress conferences with me near the midway point and the end of the semester. Weeks 6 and 13 of the semester are set aside entirely for these. To this conference, you are expected to bring all of your creative work (poems, fiction, revisions) produced so far. We will discuss the state of your portfolio and any specific questions you have about how to move forward. Conferences are an important part of this course and will be graded. Please do not skip your conference appointments. As you will not be attending this class during conference weeks, missing a conference is equivalent to 3 classes and will be counted as such. We will discuss more on times and dates later in the semester. You are always welcome (and encouraged) to schedule meetings with me at any other point during the semester, or show up for my office hours, to discuss your work, your progress, course expectations, readings, etc. Grading: Please note that you will not be graded on “talent” for this course. Rather, your grade will be a reflection of your growth and development as a writer, as well as your adherence to the course requirements outlined above. To determine your grade, I will weigh the timely completion of creative assignments; the growth displayed in your portfolio (first drafts to revisions); your critical responses to class readings, attendance at a literary reading, and responses to the work of your classmates; class participation; and class and conference attendance. Your grade will be determined as follows: 25% - Workshop (classmate critiques; critical response letter; discussion; group assignments) 25% - Portfolio (timely completion of assignments; revision efforts; self-assessment) 25% - Class participation/Attendance (discussion, in-class writing assignments, quizzes, etc.) 15% - Literary Reading/Response Paper 10% - Conferences Plagiarism and Academic Dishonesty: Plagiarism is defined as the attempt to use or pass off as one’s own the ideas or writings of another. This includes copying from a friend, downloading material from the Internet and pretending it’s yours, or using passages either reproduced word-for-word or paraphrased from another’s writing without giving the author credit. If you’re confused about the right way to quote sources, please see me and I’ll be glad to clarify. Because plagiarism involves stealing someone’s ideas, it’s considered a serious matter in academic life. Anyone committing plagiarism risks failing the course. All students are accountable to the definitions and the regulations concerning Academic Honesty contained in the University of Massachusetts Boston “Code of Standard Conduct.” For more details see: www.umb.edu/student_services/student_rights/code_conduct.html Students with Disabilities If you have a disability and feel you will need accommodations in order to complete course requirements, please contact the Ross Center for Disability Services (M1-401) at 617-287-7430.
Class Schedule
Week 2: Image, Metaphor, Sound, and Voice
Thursday 9/17
Anthology poems due; metaphor WA due; Burroway pgs. 3-15; we’ll cover elements of a poem: sound internal rhyme, end rhyme, slant rhyme, alliteration (consanance), assonance, eye rhyme, meter; voice and speaker; persona poems; read Burroway pgs. 37-43 (compare what Burroway says about your voice, character voice, and persona to what was said in class) Week 3: Elements and Functions of the Poem Tuesday 9/22: persona WA due; be ready to discuss Burroway pgs. 309-325 and handout; we’ll discuss distinguishing elements between poetry and prose, as well as formal verse; be ready to discuss Elizabeth Bishop’s “One Art” and “Sestina,” Dylan Thomas’ “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night,” Frank Bidart’s “If See No End In Is”; Bring in one sestina from the McSweeney’s website (the link is on our litandwriting website) Thursday 9/24: Sonnets: be ready to discuss eReserve: Strand, Exerpts from “The Making of a Poem: a Norton Anthology of Poetic Forms”; Hayden Carruth “Sonnet 4,” Robert Lowell “History,” and Shakespeare “Sonnet 30”; draft of sonnet argument due Week 4: Poetic Forms Tuesday 9/29: Sonnet draft due (only one copy required); we will also discuss the revision and workshop process; be prepared to get into pairs today to discuss each others poems Thursday 10/1: Sonnet due (You are required to bring in copies for the whole class, including myself. Due today. Otherwise you will be docked a letter grade for each day you do not.); other lesson plans TBA Week 5: Poetry Workshop Week Tuesday 10/6: Sign up for conferences; poetry workshops in assigned groups Thursday 10/8: Finish poetry workshops in assigned groups; turn in classmate critiques (one paragraph long) to members of your group, and one critique in letter form to assigned member of your group (make sure I get a copy); do not leave today until you have signed up for a conference Week 6: Conference Week
Tuesday 10/13: Conferences (no class) Thursday 10/15: Conferences (no class)
Week 7: Intro to Fiction: Point of view, Character, Plot, and Language Tuesday 10/20: One-page critique and 4 peer reviews due (one copy for the writer, one copy for me); be ready to discuss Jhumpa Lahiri’s “Interpreter of Maladies” (Burroway p. 100- 117) Thursday 10/22: Continued discussion of Lahiri; in-class writing exercises
Week 8: The Short Story: Physical and Temporal Setting Tuesday 10/27: Writing Assignment due; be ready to discuss Jim Shepard’s “Proto- Scorpions of the Silurian” Thursday 10/29: Continued discussion of Shepard; flash fiction discussion and assignment given; group in-class writing exercise
Week 5: Metaphor and Fiction Tuesday 11/3: Writing Assignment due; be ready to discuss be ready to discuss Gabriel Garcia Marquez’ “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” Thursday 11/5: Flash fiction story due (500-750 words); continued discussion of Marquez
Week 6: First Paragraphs: Grounding the Reader Tuesday 11/10: Writing Assignment due; Be ready to discuss be ready to discuss Franz Kafka’s “A Hunger Artist” Thursday 11/12: Continued discussion of Kafka; group in-class writing exercise
Week 7: Meaning, Abstraction, and Complexity Tuesday 11/17: Short Story draft due; Jorge Luis Borges’ “The Garden of Forking Paths” Thursday 11/19: Continued discussion of Borges; group in-class writing exercise
Week 8:Endings, Arcs, Narrative disjunction and Experimental Fiction Tuesday 11/24: Writing Assignment due; in-class exercises; discussion of Shepard, Marquez, Kafka, and Borges; workshop groups announced Thursday 11/26: Short Story due (4-6 pages, this time you are only required to make copies for your group and for me. No emailed stories will be accepted.)
Week 9: Fiction Workshops Tuesday 11/24: Fiction workshop Thursday 11/26: Fiction workshop and group assignment
Week 10: The Revision Process and Writing Between Genre Tuesday 12/1: One-page critique and 4 peer reviews due; Guest fiction writers will do an in- class reading and will discuss the revision process. Q&A to follow; also, please keep in mind that this is the last week for you to attend a literary reading for your one-page paper Thursday 12/3: Be ready to discuss prose poem handout; in-class writing exercise
Week 11: Writing Between Genre: Philosophical writings, creative non-fiction, fictionalized autobiography, sequential writing Tuesday 12/8: Literary Reading Paper due; discussion on creative non-fiction and autobiography Thursday 12/10: Writing assignment due; be ready to discuss Frank Bidart’s “Borges and I” and Jamaica Kinkaid’s “Girl”
Week 12: Sequential Writing: The poetic sequence, repeating characters, comic book writing (Last week of class!!!) Tuesday 12/15: Portfolio due today; continued discussion of genre, sequential art, and comic book writing; be ready to discuss handout Thursday 12/17: Final date to turn in assignments! No assignments will be accepted after 9:15am today. Turn in all assignments for credit, even if they are unfinished or late. (Turning in something is always a better idea than turning in nothing.)
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