CREATIVE NONFICTION & MEMOIR
Week One: 1/11
Craft Reading :: “What Is Creative Nonfiction?” by Barry Borich (Blackboard)
Reading Response ::
- “I Remember, I Remember” by Mary Ruefle
- “How to Become a Writer” by Lorrie Moore
Week Two: 1/18
Craft Reading ::
- Tell It Slant chapters: Introduction; The Body of Memory; The Tradition of the Personal Essay
Reading Response ::
- “Mirrorings” by Lucy Grealy
- “After Life” by Joan Didion
Due: Assignment #1
Week Three: 1/25
Craft Reading ::
- Tell It Slant chapters: The Basics of Good Writing in Any Form
Reading Response ::
- “The Fourth State of Matter” by Jo Ann Beard (warning: mass shooting)
Week Four: 2/1
Craft Reading ::
- Tell It Slant chapters: The Particular Challenges of Creative Nonfiction
- “The Personal (Not Private) Essay” by Dinty Moore
Reading Response ::
- “Striptease” by Lauren Slater (warning: abuse, eating disorder, sexual violence)
- “The Love of My Life” by Cheryl Strayed
Due: Creative nonfiction piece for workshop: submit to Blackboard by 5pm Fri
Week Five: 2/8
Craft Reading ::
- Tell It Slant chapters: The Lyric Essay and Mixed Media; The Writing Process and Revision
Reading Response ::
- “Of Shining and Staring/ On Ruin” by Shamala Gallagher
- “Woven” by Lidia Yuknavitch (warning: graphic hate crime)
Due: Assignment #2
Due: Workshop Group responses (nonfiction)
FICTION
Week Six: 2/15
Craft Reading ::
- The Emotional Craft of Fiction: Chapters 1, 2 3
- “Principles of a Short Story’ by Raymond Carver (Blackboard)
Reading Response ::
- “Cathedral’ by Raymond Carver
Week Seven: 2/22
Craft Reading ::
- The Emotional Craft of Fiction: Chapter 4
- “The Scourge of Relatability’ by Rebecca Mead (Blackboard)
Reading Response ::
- “Cat Person’ by Roupenian
- “Lawns” by Mona Simpson (warning: sexual violence)
Due: Assignment #3
Week Eight: 3/1
Craft Reading ::
- The Emotional Craft of Fiction: Chapter 5
Reading Response ::
- “Girl’ by Jamaica Kincaid
- “Horror Story’ by Carmen Maria Machado
- “Concert’ by John Edgar Wideman
- “The Other Place’ by Mary Gaitskill
Due: Short story for workshop: submit to Blackboard by 5pm Fri
Week Nine: 3/8
SPRING BREAK
Week Ten: 3/15
Craft Reading ::
- “Don’t Write What You Know’ by Bret Anthony Johnston (Blackboard)
Reading Response ::
- “A Country Doctor’ by Franz Kafka
- “Emergency’ by Denis Johnson
- “Dial Tone’ by Benjamin Percy
Due: Workshop Group responses (fiction)
POETRY
Week Eleven: 3/22
Craft Reading :: The Poet’s Companion chapters: Self-Doubt; Writer’s Block; The Music of the Line
Reading Response :: Poetry Packet #1
Due: Assignment #4
Week Twelve: 3/29
Craft Reading :: The Poet’s Companion chapters: Repetition, Rhythm, and Blues
Reading Response :: Poetry Packet #2
Due: Assignment #5
Week Thirteen: 4/5
Craft Reading :: The Poet’s Companion chapters: Image; Simile and Metaphor
Reading Response :: Poetry Packet #3
Due: Assignment #6
Week Fourteen: 4/12
Craft Reading :: The Poet’s Companion chapters: Voice and Style
Reading Response :: Poetry Packet #4
Due: Poem for workshop: submit to Blackboard by 5pm Fri
Week Fifteen: 4/19
Craft Reading :: The Poet’s Companion chapters: Stop Making Sense: Dreams and Experiments
Reading Response :: Poetry Packet #5
Due: Workshop Group responses (poetry)
Week Sixteen: 4/26
Due: Assignment #7
Final Exam period: Hand in Portfolio by Blackboard