In this course we will devote ourselves to the work and pleasure of creative writing and close reading in a supportive community of writers. Each week we’ll focus on a different genre of writing, including fiction, poetry, and the wide world of creative nonfiction. During class we’ll read and discuss other writers, engage in creative writing exercises to help us find and create the stories we want to tell, and encounter a variety of other modes of learning and art—from collage and dance to history and brain science—as sparks for our work. We’ll also give each other thoughtful and constructive feedback on our writing during college-style workshop sessions. The course will culminate in a final literary reading in which we will present our work to our classmates.
In this class, we’ll read voraciously and write exuberantly. Why do we write? How do writers see, feel, and make sense of our world? What does writing have to teach us about sustained close reading and analysis? How do we find inspiration? What do the forms of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction have to teach us as models, structures, or challenges? If you’re entering this class with your own ideas about these questions, welcome! If you’re entering feeling uncertain or intimidated by these questions, this class will offer a variety of enticing and inspiring answers! I’m eager to discover your work and create a space where creativity will strike.