c r e a t i v e n o n f i c t i o n
w r i t i n g
: from Letter to Lyric Essay
& the wayward beasties inbetween
My Dear Friend, I send you a little work of which no one can say,
without doing it an injustice, that it has neither head nor tail, since, on the
contrary, everything in it is both head and tail, alternately and reciprocally.
I beg you to consider how admirably convenient this combination is for all of
us, for you, for me, and for the reader. We can cut wherever we please, I my
dreaming, you your manuscript, the reader his reading; for I do not keep the
reader’s restive mind hanging in suspense on the threads of an interminable and
superfluous plot. Take away one vertebra
and the two ends of this tortuous fantasy come together again and without pain.
Chop it into numerous pieces and you will see each one can get along alone. In
the hope that there is enough life in some of these segments to please and to
amuse you, I take the liberty of dedicating the whole serpent to you.
—Charles
Baudelaire, from his introduction to Paris Spleen
Course Description/Goals
What is genre?
What makes fiction fiction, nonfiction nonfiction, and prose
prose? What is an essay, a novel, an allegory,
a fable, a memoir, a journalistic article, a meditation, a proem? Why do we seek to categorize our production
and what does such compartmentalization say about the critic, the reader, the
author? What does it mean—in a world where publication meets market demands—to
search for truth, to hold to it, to cleave (through fact) to fact? How does it make you feel when you understand that both "fact" and "fiction" are (etymologically) MADE THINGS? What does it meant to work towards/through/for truth so
while straddling the fence, falling between cracks, reworking formulae, testing
limits, pushing envelopes, resisting convention? What does it mean not to?
In this
class, you will be asked to produce several forms of nonfiction based on
historical American models, first in several short exercises and then by expanding these pieces into (potentially
combinatory) longer works. You will also
read and analyze the works of (mostly but by no means exclusively) contemporary
authors, and you will be asked to add your insightful analysis to the dialogue
about what makes their work unique and/or meaningful. Once you understand why you like what
you like and dislike about the pieces you read, you will be more capable of
making distinctive choices about your own work.
The
different pieces we study for class, along with your classmates’ writings and
your own, will provide fodder for discussion (probably), direction for your own
writing (possibly), and will serve as stylistic models to emulate or to avoid
emulating (almost certainly).
You
will learn, by the semester’s end, how to gloss pieces of nonfiction, how to
analyze them for use of voice, point of view, research strategies and
approaches, narrative trajectory, and other formal elements. By collaborating and working within the
community of the classroom and the world at large, you will realize that none
of these elements (nor indeed any writer or writing) function within a
vacuum. This epiphany may be accompanied
by a sense of great relief and/or great responsibility TO THE WORLD. I hope both.
Finally, you will both read and write more deeply by way of questioning
and re-questioning, editing, revising and starting again from zero. My responsibility as your instructor is to
ensure that the recursiveness of such tasks not bore you. (I make no such promises regarding possible
frustration.)
You will be graded on the quantity and quality of
verbal and written feedback you offer to your peers as well as on an in-class
presentation on a piece of nonfiction that MATERIALLY MOVED YOU TO NEW THOUGHT. You will complete TWO short response papers about
on-campus/near-campus events/readings you are required to attend. (You
will have a choice of several but also are encouraged to seek out others). You
will submit an end-of-semester portfolio with substantial revisions of work you
have done throughout the term. One option for this portfolio is the creation of
a single segmented essay by weaving together several of your smaller pieces
into a cohesive whole.
Course
Texts and Materials
- ·
The Making of the American Essay ed John D’Agata (available at the campus bookstore)
- ·
Linked essays on the
CLASS BLOG
- ·
Handouts provided by the instructor… that would be
me
- ·
A place to keep those handouts (folder, envelope,
microfiche…)
- ·
A notebook that has no other commitments
- ·
A working pen, pencil, crayon, stylus, laptop,
etc.
Be
prepared to provide hardcopies of your work for everyone in the class THE CLASS
BEFORE YOUR
WORK IS TO BE WORKSHOPPED. No
exceptions.
You are
required to read in-depth, gloss and comment on your writing partners’ work (keep
these, they will be turned in with the final portfolio.
Grades
Attendance
and class participation will GREATLY affect your grade. Because we meet only twice a week and because the
in-class work is ESSENTIAL to the successful completion of assignments—if you
miss more than two classes (excused or unexcused), your grade will be lowered. If
your frequent tardiness functions as absence, or you miss four classes or the equivalent in work, you will
likely fail this class.
Use of Student Writing
It is
understood that participation in this class presupposes permission by the
student for the instructor to use any student work composed as a result of this
course as classroom material.
Computer
Use
Most of
the work you do for this class will be handed in word-processed. Please use an easily
readable font. Please. I grow old.
Use
email to contact me about your coursework, or to ask any relevant
questions. My email address is kjk42@drexel.edu
Computers
are susceptible to crashing and freezing. I suggest handwritten drafts. Or, memorize your work as you go. If
neither of these suggestions sounds feasible—Save your work frequently, always
make backup copies, and plan your projects with extra time allowed for those
inevitable glitches.
